Burning Heart
by Phaser89
Summary: She's finally overcome her depression. But now what? Yang may still be on Patch but the world continues to spin around her. Soon she'll need to set out on her own adventure, but is she ready? Only time can tell if the Blonde Brawler is ready for HER next step. RWBY and all characters are property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth.
1. Getting Back into the Swing of Things

"Come on Yang, put a little more strength into it." I pulled my fist back and swung again. Dad caught my hand and threw it down. "I don't want to accidently hurt you." I swung again but he just knocked my arm away. "You can't hurt me Yang. Go ahead, swing as hard as you can, I have my aura to protect me." I pulled back and swung as hard as I could. I struck the center of the protective gear he had on, causing him to stumble back a few feet. "There you go Yang!" Dad's been helping me adjust to the new arm. I can do a lot of the basic motor skills necessary for everyday life, but now I'm trying to learn how to use it in a fight.

"I think that's enough for now." Dad removed his gear and set it on the porch. He opened the cooler and grabbed two energy drinks, tossing one of them to me. The sun was shining brightly overhead and steadily the temperature was increasing. I wiped sweat from my eyes and popped the tab on my Monster, taking a long drink. I looked down at my right arm, sun gleaming off the smooth metal. I glanced over at my left arm, Ember Celica sitting snuggly on my wrist. _One weapon down._ I had searched my room for the schematics to Ember Celica but they weren't in there. "Tai and Yang, doing a little father-daughter bonding I hope?" I recognized that gruff voice but couldn't believe it. Coming up the road was both Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck. Zwei got up off the porch and ran over to Oobleck, jumping up and down happily. "Ah yes, it is good to see you Zwei."

"Barty, Peter, what are you two doing here?" Dad stepped off the porch to greet them. "Well rebuilding Beacon is tough work, Glynda told us to take a break and Barty suggested we come visit." Dad opened the door and we went inside. "Well it had been a while since the last we've spoken. We were also curious as to the well-being of miss Xiao Long," Oobleck turned and smiled. "but it appears you're doing just fine." I smiled back. "Yeah, I guess so." Port and Oobleck sat down at the kitchen table. "So, Yang, how is the arm treating you?" I held my arm out and wiggled my fingers before giving them a thumbs up. "I'd say it's treating me good Professor." I drank more of my Monster, the caffeine starting to kick in. "Doctor, and that's good to hear, we were hoping to see you in good spirits."

"Yes however, we were actually wondering… if you'd heard from Ruby?" I faltered at Port's question but Dad responded without missing a beat. "No, we haven't heard anything directly. A week ago, we saw a news update about mysterious rose petals showing up in villages and towns attacked by Grimm, so we have hope." I crushed my empty can and threw it away. "She's fine. Ruby's a big girl, she can take care of herself. She's got Jaune, Ren, and Nora with her too. I'd be more worried about Mistral personally." Everyone laughed. "Yes, Miss Rose always showed exceptional skill on the battlefield. Enough so to impress Ozpin and get into Beacon after all."

"Not only that Peter, but she showed exceptional leadership on our mission to Mountain Glenn." I remember the mission; especially the question asked by Oobleck. _"Tell me, Yang: Why did you choose this line of work?" "Huh? Well, to fight monsters and save-" "No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."_ If I were being honest I'm not entirely sure what that answer would be anymore. Is being a Huntress something I still even want to do? Or for that matter can I even still be a Huntress? An image of Ruby, Blake, and Weiss floated to the front of my mind. _Of course, I can. I want to be with my te- my family again._ I smiled to myself, the thought of being a team again made me happy. "Well it is very nice to hear that everything is going well with you two; Barty and I best be on our way though. There's still a lot of work left to do to clean up Vale _and_ Beacon." They stood up from the table and pushed their chairs in. "Ah yes, Peter is correct, we must be getting back. Glynda will need a break too. Keep in touch you two."

I stood on the porch and waved as they walked away. _Everyone else is of doing something important. Maybe it's my turn._ The sun was high in the sky and shining brightly through the trees. I looked over at the shed, an idea forming in my head. I went back inside and up to my room, rummaging through my closet, "Ha, there you are!" I pulled my helmet out from one of the many boxes in the corner. I wiped the dust off and took it downstairs, leaving it on the kitchen table while I went out to the shed. I threw the door open and looked at the tarp in the back corner. I pulled it off, revealing Bumblebee hiding underneath. I don't know how, but Dad managed to get it back to Patch in one piece. I rolled it out of the shed and stood it in the grass, the sun reflecting from its smooth metal.

"Going for a ride?" Dad was standing on the back porch, my helmet in his hand. "Yeah, it's been a while and it's a nice day out, so why not?" He tossed me the helmet. "Be careful, and try not to go too far over the speed limit." He winked and went back inside. I fit the helmet snuggly on my head and hopped onto Bumblebee, starting the engine in the process. I slowly rode down the dirt pathway, finally letting loose when I hit pavement. Something about speeding down an open road just felt liberating to me. I maneuvered around the few cars I came across and gunned it on the straightaways. A quick glance over the trees revealed the first few towers of Signal Academy. I took the nearest turn and headed towards my old school. Dad and Qrow teach here when they weren't on missions, however Dad hasn't taught any classes in a while. _Probably busy taking care of me._ I slowly drove by the entrance, taking in the sight of Signal.

The sight of my old school made me yearn for Beacon. The Grimm can't have it forever, we'll need to take it back eventually. When and how was still up in the air though. Vale still needed repaired before anything could be done about Beacon, and the giant frozen Drake that now sits atop Ozpin's old office, luring a horde of other horrendous Grimm to it. _One step at a time Yang._ I twisted the accelerator, speeding away from Signal and back onto the main road. _I still need to figure out what I'm going to do. Dad can't look after me forever._ I glanced down at my left arm, catching the glint of sun off Ember Celica. "Well first I need a matching pair." I laughed out loud and turned around, heading back home.


	2. A Matching Pair

"How was the ride, good I assume?" Dad was standing outside, watching as I rolled Bumblebee back to the shed. "Yeah," I pulled the helmet from my head, shaking my hair down past my shoulders, "it was nice to go out for a little joyride." I placed the cover back over Bumblebee and set the helmet off to the side. "Hey Dad, I need you to get me into Signal. I need to use the weapons workshop." He looked at me questioningly, "I mean, we can go tomorrow. Why do you want to go?" I shook my left hand at him, Ember Celica clinging to my wrist. "Only having one is really starting to bother me. Ember Celica is a pair Dad. Plus, if I'm ever gonna get back out there I need my weapon." I locked up the shed and went inside the house, Dad following me inside. I grabbed some bread and put it in the toaster, changing the setting from black to golden-brown.

"You gotta stop eating your toast black. It's gross and it makes the house smell burnt." He laughed and went into the living room, calling behind him. "I'll eat my toast the way I want to." I grabbed the jar on the counter that said 'Zwei', and pulled the lid off with a loud pop. The hilarious sound of tiny feet rapidly hitting the floor made me smile as Zwei ran into the kitchen and stood near me. I pulled a treat out, showing it to him. "Sit," he sat, "Stand-up," He raised himself on his hind legs, his front feet dangling in the air. I balanced the treat on his snout, his eyes narrowing to look at it. "Get the treat." He flipped the treat into the air and then snapped down on it. "Good boy." I grabbed the butter and jelly from the fridge as the toaster popped. I haphazardly slapped on my toppings and placed them back in the fridge.

I walked into the living room, munching on my toasty monstrosity of butter and jelly. "Have some toast with your," Dad looked at the globby mess jiggling on my toast, "whatever the hell you put on it." I rolled my eyes, I like jokes… but not dad jokes. "Oh my god, that's so hilarious. I nearly laughed." I chuckled at my own sarcasm. "Hey you had to get your terrible puns and jokes from somewhere." I put on a pouty face and stuck my tongue out. He just winked back making me smile. "My jokes are not terrible, it's just that not everyone appreciates the Xiao Long sense of humor." I grabbed the last piece of toast from my plate, the butter and jelly getting runny. "Are you gonna help with the Vale clean-up?" I glanced over at Dad and bit into the toast. "You think I should too?"

I thought about that for a second. "Too? Is that why Port and Oobleck dropped by?" He sighed. "Well they did genuinely want to see us, but yeah I kind of got the feeling they wanted to ask for my help." I turned to him. "Then why didn't you say anything. You know you should go help, they need every pair of hands they can get." Another sigh. "I know that Yang, but you need me too." _So that's what it is._ I stared intently at him but he didn't look at me. "Yeah, I'm still a teenager, yes just a few days ago, I didn't know what to do with myself, and yeah I lost an arm. I'll always need you Dad but right now I think Vale may need your help more than I do." He smiled and looked at me. "Since when did you become the sensible one?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"I'm giving you my teacher's access card for Signal. I'm heading to Vale first thing tomorrow morning so you might not see me for a few days. You know how to take care of yourself, just don't burn the house down." He handed me the card and I looked over it. It had a goofy picture of him on the front with the words employee access next to it. "Thanks Dad." I set it down on the end table so I wouldn't lose it. "Yang, whatever you decide to do… Be careful." I pulled his head close and lightly bumped my forehead against his. "I'll always come back to you, Ruby too. We'll both always make it back." He smiled, I saw a small tear form in the corner of his eye and he blinked it away. "I believe you, I know you wouldn't leave your old man." I smiled, "Plus you wouldn't be able to do anything by yourself without me or Ruby." I punched his arm laughing. "You better go to bed if you want to leave early tomorrow." I just noticed that the sky was starting to darken, the very edge of the moon peaking just over the horizon. "Yeah I guess you're right. Goodnight, don't stay up too late." Dad got up and went upstairs, his spot on the couch being quickly taken by Zwei.

I grabbed the remote and flipped to one of those all-day movie channels. My stomach growled, an indication that toast was not enough, and I went to the kitchen. I looked through the pantry, finally settling on popcorn over cereal, and threw a bag in the microwave. I checked the fridge and grabbed some milk. "If I don't drink this it'll expire." I took the cap off and drank straight from the jug, the popcorn just starting to pop. _He knows I'm going to leave soon._ Honestly it didn't surprise me, Dad always had a way of knowing what I was gonna do before I did. Part of me wants to stay now, stay and help him clean up Vale. _But then who's gonna bring the team back together?_ The microwave beeped and brought me out of my thoughts. I grabbed the bag and took it into the living room, plopping back down on the couch. I watched the movie absentmindedly while shoveling handfuls of popcorn in my mouth, the ones that don't make it getting chomped up by Zwei. I leaned into the couch and tipped my head back. _What do I do?_ I placed the back of my hand on my forehead, the cool metal calming me. _I need to go, I need to go and get Ruby, and Weiss… and Blake._ I looked over at Ember Celica resting on my wrist. "Let's hope I'm still in the Signal database."


	3. Interviews and Bacon Strips

"Yang, wake up." Gentle shaking and Dad's voice stirred me from my dreams. "Wha' you want?" I yawned and stretched. I could barely make out Dad's form, my eyes were so droopy. "You fell asleep on the couch, go to your bed if you're tired." I slumped off the couch and body rolled into a standing position. "M'kay." I stumbled over to the stairs and crawled up them. "Night Dad. Do some good today." I pushed my bedroom door open and made for my bed, plopping down when I got there, Zwei doing the same a few seconds later. I grabbed him and pulled him close, the exhaustion putting me back to sleep.

I opened my eyes and I was back in the same classroom from my previous dreams. The large mirror was covered by a sheet. I walked over and started pulling the sheet off. It fell to the floor revealing that the mirror, once ornate and beautiful, was now shattered and broken. The frame was cracked and chipped and the glass had a spider web crack running all over the surface, making it nearly impossible to see any reflection. _I thought I was done here._ "Yeah, I thought you were done here too, but you're back again." I glanced over at the voice, not at all surprised to see myself sitting on a desk. "Now before you start asking me why you're here I'll get to the point and tell you that you already know why." She snapped her fingers and the room crumbled into nothing revealing a crossroads. "We know a decision needs to be made. You have two possible paths to take from here." Down one path Ruby, Blake, and Weiss were standing together waving at me to follow them. Down the other path, my biological mom was walking away. "Two clear choices, two paths full of uncertainty. The choice is your own, I can't tell you anything you don't already know. Whatever you choose though, you better not regret it." The other me turned from the crossroads and started walking away. "Later." She said tossing her hand in a wave goodbye.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in my room, sprawled out across my bed. "I gotta stop talking to myself in my dreams.", I said aloud. I trudged downstairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed bacon from the freezer, threw it in the microwave and pressed defrost. I put some food in Zwei's bowl and prepared a skillet for the bacon. _"Whatever you choose, you better not regret it."_ My own words echoing in my mind over and over. The microwave beeped and I pulled the bacon out. I pulled the strips apart and placed them in the skillet, the fat sizzling and making the air in the house smell of meat. I went back to the fridge and grabbed the milk. _Expired today, hmm… probably still good._ I shrugged and drank the rest of the milk. I flipped the bacon over in the skillet and leaned against the counter.

The thumping of Zwei's feet as he entered the kitchen made me smile. I scratched his ear as he ate, making his little stump wag. I glanced at the skillet and grabbed a plate from the cupboard. I turned the stove off and slid the bacon from the skillet to the plate. I placed the skillet in the sink and ran water over it, adding a bit of soap. I left the skillet to soak and took my bacon into the living room. I sat on the couch and turned the TV to the news. "Thank you for joining us today General Ironwood."

Ironwood sat across from the woman, his unkempt facial hair and dark eyes giving away how exhausted he was. "Thank you for having me." He didn't even speak like I'd known him too. The presence he gave off was almost saddening. "So, in the wake of the Fall of Beacon, as it's being called now, would you say that Ozpin failed?" The slightest frown came over his face. "No, I would not say that Ozpin had failed. Quite the opposite. I think he, and the rest of Beacon's faculty succeeded. We sustained very few casualties and made our top priority the rescue of the students." The camera panned back over to the host. "But surely you must agree that to some extent the blame be put on Vale." I munched on the bacon as the view was once again on Ironwood. "How do you come to that conclusion. An attack of that scale and during an event like that would take any of the kingdoms by surprise. Or perhaps you're suggesting that Vale is at fault because Ozpin didn't want to conflict with the White Fang but to talk and discuss with them instead, because he didn't see the point in the conflict and racism so prevalent in every kingdom."

The host looked flustered and her face became a deep shade of red. "I- I never said-" "You didn't need to say it to get your point across. If you were looking for my approval that Vale was at fault then we are done here." Ironwood stood up, a new anger in his eyes and walked off screen. The camera focused on the host but she couldn't say anything. "And we'll be back after these commercial messages." A clearly confused voice stated as the screen darkened out. I ate the last of the bacon and took the plate to the sink. I scrubbed the plate and skillet clean and went back into the living room. I grabbed the keys to the house and Dad's access card. "Zwei I'm going out, don't tear the house up." I locked the front door behind me and went around back to the shed. I rolled Bumblebee out and put my helmet on before tearing down the path to the road, and then speeding on to Signal.


	4. Yellow

I pulled up to Signal and rode inside. The parking lot was fairly full but there were still many spots left open. I parked in the middle of the lot and strode up to the front door. I slid Dad's card across the scanner, the panel glowing green to allow access and walked through the doors as they opened for me. The familiar hallways took me back to when I still attended classes here. Taking basic classes like history, writing, and heck even a bit of art. And of course, basic combat courses, along with the lab where I made Ember Celica. But none of this could even compare to my time at Beacon.

I strode down the hallways going past classrooms with doors wide open, lectures and ramblings coming through the thresholds. I found my way to the old workshops and labs, the sound of machines coming from closed, sometimes slightly charred, doors. I found the old weapons lab and opened the door. It was empty but the lights were on and there were scraps of metal sitting out, leading me to believe that someone was in here recently. I strode over to one of the computers and sat. I tried my old login and was surprised when it actually worked. I shifted through my old files and found my finished schematics for Ember Celica and pulled up the drawings. I sent the files over to one of the machines and grabbed a pair of gloves and a set of goggles from the rack, putting them on and pulling a band from my pocket and using it to tie my hair up to keep it from getting in the way.

The machine roared to life at my touch and I pulled the files up on the screen. I selected where I was going to start and a small window opened, telling me to insert the material. I grabbed a large sheet of metal from the back corner and fed it into the machine. The clashing of metal against metal filled the room and was nearly deafening, the machine sending vibrations through the floor and up through my body. As I continued to feed material into the machine I deposited parts and slid them onto the table next to it. Eventually all the parts were deposited onto the table. I scooped them up and deposited them onto a workbench. I placed my gloves and goggles back on the rack and sat down. "Time to get to work."

Shaking brought me out of sleep. I lifted my head to see the fully assembled Ember Celica before me and turned to see who I assumed was a teacher here. "What are you doing here miss?" I fumbled in my jacket pocket for Dad's ID and placed it on the table. "I'm Tai's daughter. He gave me his ID so I could come use the lab." I grabbed the ID and slid it back into my pocket. "Oh, you're Yang! Sorry if I seemed hostile. No one was scheduled to be in here and when the door was open with someone asleep at the bench I was concerned." He reached for and picked up Ember Celica. "This is some nice work you've done." He handed it to me and I slipped it onto my arm. I tested to see if I could collapse it and it folded into the bracelet I was so familiar with. A quick flick of the wrist and it extended out into its weapon form. "Thank you, I lost the other one and needed to make a replacement." I looked down and frowned slightly, the shine of the bare metal compared to the yellow glint of the old one felt wrong.

"Well if you want to make sure it's working all right, feel free to use the testing room." The teacher turned and walked out of the lab. The last step was to match the color. I stepped over to the painter and placed Ember Celica inside. This painter was amazing, you could select the individual pieces of whatever you placed inside and choose what colors you wanted them. I selected the same shade of yellow I was used to and highlighted all the parts I wanted it to paint. After it was done it rolled out the end of the machine. I reached for it and stopped when I noticed the boring colors of my new arm. I smiled at the idea that popped into my head.

Soon after that I was in the testing lab, shooting at targets with Ember Celica. The new one fired just as well as the old one. I pulled my arm back and launched another shot at a target, the projectile scorching it, leaving faint smoke trails rolling off. I deactivated Ember Celica, reverting them back to their bracelet forms, and smiled. I held up my right arm and admired the new yellow color to it. I grabbed my jacket and left the lab, a feeling of completion overcoming me. The lot was empty as I left the building and headed for Bumblebee, ready to go home. I grabbed the helmet off the handlebars and placed it tightly on my head. I looked down at the yellow hand gripping the throttle and smiled.

I could hear Zwei barking as I rolled Bumblebee into the shed. I took my helmet inside and set it down on the kitchen table. I put food in Zwei's bowl and went to the living room to plop down on the couch. _Better shower first, you smell,_ I thought as I turned the TV on. I tossed the remote on the couch and headed upstairs. I grabbed some comfy shorts and a tank-top from my dresser and went to the shower.

The warm water was comforting as it rolled down me in waves. I still hadn't gotten use to showering with one hand, I didn't know if I could get the prosthetic wet, and it was difficult washing my hair. When I made sure all the suds were gone I turned the water off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around myself. I studied my face in the mirror. The lilac was back in my eyes and even my hair looked brighter than it did a week ago. I was definitely feeling like myself again. I put on the shorts and top I laid out and my arm, still smiling at the new yellow look. I dried my hair the best I could and went downstairs, Zwei waiting at the bottom for me.

"What, want to go outside?" He ran in a small circle and jumped, yipping loudly. I walked through the kitchen and opened the back door for him before finding my place on the couch. The TV was still on, the same news channel from this morning on the screen. I flipped through the channels until I found this older cheesy cop drama that Dad got me hooked into. "Johnny, 'ey Johnny, come check dis out." The thick accent of the heavier cop always made me happy. He held up a container of rainbow powder and shook it at Johnny. "Looks like we got some illegal dust 'ere." Johnny turned to the punk kid he had by the collar. "Nice work Andy. Okay kid," _His gruff voice my god._ "the way I see this going down is you doing time or you're gonna tell us who the supplier is." The kid was getting nervous, the sweat dropping off him like rain. "I ain't gonna say nuthin' man." Johnny shoved the kid over to Andy, who hefted him up into the air by the ankles. "Take him to the balcony." The walked out to the balcony and Andy dangled the kid over the edge. "Your choice kid, is it really worth dying over?" Andy loosened his grip letting the kid slid a bit. "I'll have Andy drop you, you know what kinda damage six stories do to a body when it rapidly descends?" The started crying. "'Kay man, 'kay, I'll tell ya who the supplier is, just don' drop me." Johnny looked at Andy and nodded, letting him know to pull the kid up.

The patter of Zwei's paws drew my attention. "Did you close the door on your way back in?" I looked at him and he growled in a friendly way. "No, go close the door." He turned and went back into the kitchen, the sound of a door closing moments later followed by the pattering again. "Good boy." I told him when he jumped up on the couch. He growled again but laid down next to me. I turned back to the TV. "So ya think that kid was tellin' the truth Johnny?" Both men were getting back into the cop car. "Let's hope so, I'm tired of chasing phantoms." The cop car pulled out and the show cut to commercial. "You know," I said to no one, "I'm tired of chasing phantoms too."


	5. The Start of the Journey

I glanced at the clock next to the TV, _2:14, damn it's late… or early?_ Some late-night talk show was on TV. I suddenly noticed how dry my mouth was and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. I filled the cup and took long, slow gulps. _"Yang."_ I stopped and looked around, the voice sounded so close yet there was no one else around. _I must be hearing things._ I set the cup down. "You're not hearing things." I whipped around and stared at the figure sitting down at the table. "What do you want?" I asked coldly, I was sure my eyes were turning crimson because I could feel my blood starting to boil. "Is that anyway to speak to your mother?"

"I may be your daughter but you're not my mother." Raven sat calmly at the kitchen table, observing me. "What are you doing here?" I went to the cookie jar and grabbed two cookies from the jar. I took a bite from the first and stared at her. "I just came to talk." Her calm composure was making me angry. "About?" I chomped down hard on the cookie trying to make my displeasure known. "I met with Qrow, he's been keeping a close eye on your sister and her friends, they're safe. He, however, was… displeased that I hadn't been to see you." I rolled my eyes and started in on the second cookie. "Yeah well visiting now doesn't really fix a lot." I heard growling from the living room and saw Zwei in the doorway. "Zwei come here." He looked over at me for a moment but continued to growl. "She's fine Zwei, come here." He looked at me again then stopped growling and came over to me. "You know that Beacon was just the beginning, right? There's more to this than just trying to destabilize the four kingdoms." She shifted in the chair, leaning forward and looking directly at me. "Why are you telling me this?" She just looked at me, not answering my question. I turned away from her and started filling the sink with water. "You need to be prepared for the world to be in flames." I stared at her reflection in the window.

"My world was already engulfed in flames once," I turned to her, "I think I'll be fine." She shrugged and stood up, reaching for her sword. "Then I guess we're done talking." She slashed, opening a red tear in the kitchen. "Hey." She stopped and turned. I walked to the cookie jar, pulled a cookie out, and threw it to her. She caught it and looked at me. "Thanks for the update on Ruby." She walked through the tear and it disappeared. I looked down at Zwei who was staring up at me, head cocked to the side. "What?" He barked and went back into the living room. I turned my attention to the sink and slowly washed the dishes. "That probably could've went better." I mumbled to myself. I focused on the suds and warm water, trying to clear my head a bit. I finished the dishes and went back to the living room, the same talk show on TV. I turned the TV and went up to my room. I flopped down on the bed, more mentally exhausted than physically. I closed my eyes and eventually fell asleep.

I woke up to a nudging in my side. "No, I'm tired." I rolled to the side and held my pillow over my head. The nudging persisted on my back and side until I rolled over. "What?" I stared at the happy face of Zwei, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth and slight pant going. He nudged my stomach and yipped. "Zwei I'm tired, you know I was up late." He yipped again and kept nudging me in the stomach with his nose and paws. "Zwei stop it, that tickles." I started involuntarily laughing as he aggressively nudged and pawed at my stomach. I grabbed him and held him above my face, shaking him lightly. "What do you want?" I stopped and stared into his face. He yipped happily and waved his legs around. "Fine, I'll get up." I dropped him onto my bed and sat up. I shifted my legs off the side of the bed and stood up, stretching in the process.

I looked down at Zwei who was now sitting at my feet. "You are so lucky that you're cute and I love you." I sighed and followed him out of my room, downstairs, and into the kitchen. I opened the back door for him and went to the cupboard, looking for something to eat. I found some granola bars in the back and grabbed a few. "I heard the front door open followed by footsteps. "Yang?" I opened a granola bar and poked my head into the living room. "I'm in the kitchen." I grabbed Zwei's water bowl and filled it. "How's cleanup coming?" I set the water bowl down and filled the other bowl with food. "Cleanup is cleanup. Everyone is just stretched so thin. Luckily the Grimm are contained to Beacon and not bothering the ground crews." Dad opened the fridge and sighed. "Man, we're out of milk. I'll have to go pick some up later." I debated telling him about my encounter with my mom. "So, when are you leaving Yang?" I turned to look at him. "I, I don't know. I'm still kind of scared to leave."

"Don't be scared Yang. You're one of the toughest and bravest people I know, next to Ruby. Don't let fear hold you back from what you need to do." I sighed and looked at the floor. "But what if I don't her?" Dad laughed. "It's not going to be too hard to find Ruby. Just follow the gunshots and rose petals." I didn't look up. "That's not who I'm talking about Dad." There was an awkward silence between us. "I'm sure you'll find Blake. I know you're still hurt that she ran away but I'm sure she wants to see you just as much you want to see her." Normally saying something like that would make me feel better but not this time. "I spoke to my mom last night." I looked up to see his reaction but his face was calm and didn't show any signs of emotion. "She showed up here in the kitchen. She said that Uncle Qrow had been keeping an eye on Ruby and the others and that they were safe. Then she talked about how Beacon was only the beginning and that whoever is doing this is trying to do more than just destabilize the four kingdoms. Before she left she told me to be prepared for the world to be up in flames." Dad's expression remained the same throughout my story. He sighed. "Yeah she had a way of knowing a little more than the rest of us. Don't let her words rattle you too much though, she… she's different Yang."

Zwei came back inside and happily barked when he saw Dad. "I'm happy to see you too Zwei." Zwei lost interest in Dad as soon as he saw that his bowls were filled. "I'm gonna take a shower." I went upstairs and started running the shower. I looked into the mirror, almost hearing the me from my dreams saying, _"Come on, what are you afraid of?"_. I sighed and got in the shower. _What are you afraid of?_ I thought to myself. I pushed the thoughts into the back of my mind. I thought about what dad said, about not letting fear hold me back. _If you don't leave you'll never get your family back._

I turned the water off and got out of the shower, heading for my bedroom. I threw open the closet door and scanned my clothes. I grabbed a pair of black pants, an orange crop top, a brown belt with gold trim, and a tan jacket I had hanging to the far side of the closet that matched the belt. I grabbed a pair of boots that matched the jacket and belt and got dressed. Before I left my room, I looked in the mirror, the image staring back at me was a strong, powerful, and brave girl. I grabbed a pair of sunglasses and fingerless gloves from my dresser and went downstairs. I walked out back to the shed and opened it up. Bumblebee and Ember Celica were sitting right where I left them. "So… you're leaving?" I looked back over my shoulder. "Yeah. You were right though, I can't let fear hold me back. I rolled Bumblebee outside and checked everything to make sure it was ready for the trip. Dad tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. He handed me Ember Celica and hugged me. "Don't worry Dad. I'm gonna come back, and I'll have Ruby with me. And I'll bring Weiss and Blake so you can meet them. I'm gonna make it back." He broke away from the hug first, smiling the whole time. "I know you will, you're my daughter after all." I put Ember Celica on my wrists and got on Bumblebee. I looked over at Dad and smiled. I started the engine and drove off down the dirt path, heading for the port. "I'm coming for you Ruby."


	6. Across the Blue Seas

Waves rocked the ship back and forth as the rolled into the hull. I stood at the bow, the occasional splash of a wave breaking on the hull spraying a mist up over the deck. We left port yesterday afternoon. My guess would be that we're somewhere around the North-East to East side of Vale. "Good afternoon young lady." I turned to greet the voice, an older man dressed in a navy blue captain's jacket and white pants. "Good afternoon." He stuck his hand out and I returned by shaking. "So, what draws you out to sea?" I assumed he was out doing his rounds and checking on passengers. "I'm going to Mistral to find my sister. I hope it's ok that I brought my bike on board." He laughed and shook his head. "No trouble, no trouble at all. You said you're looking for your sister? If you don't mind my asking what's she doing in Mistral?" I sighed but smiled. "My guess would be trying to save the world." We both chuckled and I looked out over the water. "Well it sounds like you've got quite the sister. If I may, what's your name?" I leaned back against the guard railing. "Yang, Yang Xiao Long." Another wave gently rocked the boat. "Well Miss Xiao Long, I hope you enjoy the rest of your ride. We should be arriving in Mistral tomorrow morning." I shook his hand again. "Thank you for the ride." He bowed his head softly before going about his business leaving me to my own devices.

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the old photo. It was the same one that Qrow had shown me that day at Beacon, the one of Summer, Dad, Mom and Qrow. I looked over it, my gaze resting on my mom's face. I tucked the photo away and went on a little walk around the ship. A few kids were running around and laughing as their parents chatted with one another. When the kids came around the corner again, one of them took his turn a little wide and bumped into me, causing her to fall down. I knelt and picked her up. "Are you okay?" She sniveled a bit, "Yeah, I'm fine." I saw a small trail of blood coming from her knee, which was now slightly bloody and looked a little raw. "Where are your parents?" She pointed to a group of adults near the back of the ship. I held out my right hand, "Come on I'll take you to them." She took my hand and I walked her to the group of adults in the back. "Excuse me, your daughter fell and scraped her knee. She's bleeding a little bit." A woman stepped away from the rest of the people, reaching into her bag. She pulled some tissues from her bag and a little bandage. "Thank you for letting me know." The mother smiled at me and wiped the blood from the girl's leg and knee. She gently placed the bandage on her knee and took her hand. I smiled at the woman and turned away from the group, heading back to the bow of the ship.

The waters had calmed and the ship wasn't rocking nearly as much anymore. Birds flew overhead, keeping pace with the ship, chirping and singing. I gazed into the water, the occasional fish splashing about near the surface. I'd always heard tales of large sea-dwelling Grimm, monstrous beings that could bring ships down in seconds, but hoped that this would not be my chance to see if those stories were true. I turned and headed to the door that lead below deck, wanting to lay down for a bit. Below deck was nice and inviting, an area set up for passengers was right at the foot of the stairs. A couple of nice couches and chairs were set about next to lamps and windows so you could still watch the ocean from in here. A bookshelf was tucked into the corner full of books and magazines for the enjoyment of others. I chose a couch next to a window and sprawled out on it, kicking my boots off and leaving them next to the couch. I closed my eyes and let the rocking of the ship put me to sleep.

I woke up in a cold sweat, my heart beating incredibly fast. I couldn't think of what woke me up, it wasn't a dream… I think. I sighed, now wide awake and sat up. I looked out the window behind me, the moon reflecting off the top of the water. I put my boots on and climbed up the stairs leading outside. The air was cool and smelled of ocean water. Light from the control room was illuminating some parts of the deck. I slowly walked around the ship, admiring how quiet it was, nothing but the sound of waves splashing against the ship filling the air. "Are you okay Miss Xiao Long?" The captain was coming down the steps from the control room. "Everything's fine, I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep." He got to the foot of the steps and then matched my pace, joining me on my walk around the ship. "Ah yes, I know the feeling, I was like that as well when I was younger, now I can hardly stop myself from falling asleep." I laughed along with him. "I used to go to Beacon Academy… before the attack." I lifted my sleeve up, the yellow metal reflecting the moonlight off of it. "I lost my arm and now I have this. It… took a while to get over it and get back on my feet." My voice was the only thing I could hear, not the ship, not the waves, not even the breathing of the captain next to me.

"Take some advice from an old sailor. It's not your struggles that define you, but how you manage and overcome those struggles." I turned to look at the captain. "Everyone comes across hardship in their life, you can either give up or persevere. You don't strike me as the type to give up." I smiled, I could hear Dad's words in his. "I'm not one to give up." _And I'm gonna keep moving forward, no matter what._ "Thanks for the talk, I'm gonna try to see if I can't get back to sleep." I broke away and headed inside. "I'll let you know when we make it to port, go ahead and sleep in." I smiled to myself and waved, "Thanks." When I got below deck I kicked my boots off and plopped back down on the couch I was sleeping on earlier. I thought of the words the captain told me and how much they mirrored what Dad would've said. I relaxed into the couch, a smile on my face, and drifted to sleep.


	7. Getting a Lay of the Land

"You are so sad." I turned on the voice, coming face to face with that horrible mask. I stumbled back a step, pulling my fists up defensively. "What's wrong Blondey, scared?" He took a step forward, reaching for his katana. I took another step back, wanting to run as fast as I could. "Blake is mine, you can't have her." I stopped mid-step, "Blake doesn't belong to anyone!" I shouted. He laughed, cruel and sadistic. "Dumb kid, it's time you learned a lesson." In slow motion I saw him draw his blade as I swung at him. The blade came straight up and sliced through my right arm. Before I could react, the blade came across and sliced my left arm off. "Can't hit me now." He laughed and sliced my legs off below the knee. I fell to the ground limbless and defenseless. "You're nothing, and Blake is mine." The blade came swinging down at my neck. The last thing I saw was that horrible glowing mask.

I shot straight into a sitting position, my skin hot and sweat dripping off me. I reached for my neck and then touched my arms and legs to make sure they were still there. I sighed and put my face into my hands, trying to hold back tears. "It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't-" A gentle tug at my arm brought me out of it. "Are you okay lady?" I lifted my head from my hands and looked down at the small hand holding onto my sleeve. The face of the little girl from yesterday filled my vision. "Are you sad?" She looked concerned, her eyes looking right into mine. "I'm… fine… I think." I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat. I shifted my legs off the couch so my feet were touching the floor. "Shouldn't you be with your parents?" I asked her. She shrugged and rocked back and forth on her feet. "I don't know, they told me I could play until we got off the boat." I put my boots and stood up, stretching out and loosening my arms and legs. "There's plenty of kids around, you should go play with them." She shook her head, "But I wanna play with you." I looked down at her, she was smiling and looking up at me. "What do you want to do?" She shrugged, "I don't know, it's boring on this boat." _You're telling me,_ I thought to myself. "Why do you want to play with me and not the other kids?" She shrugged again, "I don't know, you seem nice." The sound of a door opening, followed by footsteps, stole my attention and brought it to the stairs. The captain came down and looked over to me, "Ah, you're already awake I see. We are approaching port and should be arriving in the next few minutes." I knelt down and ruffled the girl's hair. "Sorry, no time to play, maybe next time." I smiled at her and followed the captain above deck.

It was still before noon, the sun hanging low in the sky. The ship was fast approaching Anima, a port town coming into view, slowly, as we headed forward. I wandered towards the back of the ship and started prepping Bumblebee for the long road ahead. We slowly drifted into port and the ramps on the ship descended, allowing the passengers off. I rolled Bumblebee over to the ramp, ready to leave. "You know Anima is a little more dangerous than what you're used to. I do hope you'll find your sister." I shook the captain's hand firmly before departing from his ship. I rolled Bumblebee onto the dirt road and got on. I turned back and waved before I rode out of town, leaving a cloud dust behind me.

The town gave wave to rolling countryside, the road lined with trees. On my right the coastline shone brightly from the sun reflecting off the still water, grassy hills and farmland sprawled on forever to my left. The air was different then it was on Sanus, almost heavy, but not in a bad way. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I coasted along the winding road. It was weird, how peaceful Anima seemed compared to Sanus recently. One of the four kingdoms attacked and brought to its knees, and it seems the rest of the world is spinning and moving forward while the attack on Vale brought Sanus to a standstill. I pushed the thoughts away and admired the change of scenery, compared to the heavy forests of Patch, this wide-open space was refreshing. I focused on the road ahead of me and sped up. The dirt path was beaten down from years of travel, solid but dry… and dusty. A signpost stood in the distance, drawing my attention. I slowed when I reached it, coming to a stop, reading what was etched into the wood. "Crimson Peak, sounds interesting." I followed the arrow and rode in-land, leaving the coastline behind.

The Countryside was even better when driving through it. The road rose and fell with the hills, going around obstacles instead of carving straight through. I remembered one of the talks I had with Dad when he was helping me adjust to the new arm. _"Brute strength isn't bad, but sometimes there are walls you can't force your way through. If you just take the time to calm down and examine the situation, you'll see that there are ways around those walls."_ That bit of advice wouldn't have made sense to me before my injury, but the me I am now understands what he was saying. I rely too much on my semblance to win fights. Dad described my semblance as a giant tantrum and I knew what he meant. I draw power from the hits I take but the power is also unleashed through my anger. _"Fighting angry is fighting sloppy Yang."_ That was one of the first things he taught me when I was little. _If only I understood that before_. I sighed… but then smiled. If it hadn't been for Dad then I'd still be on Patch right now, no closer to getting my family back together. I refocused on the road a large hill approaching.

The road curved upwards, taking me higher, little by little. The trees and grass started fading from green to orange to red. I looked over to the left and right, the rest of the fields slowly getting further below me. The road evened out, a town coming into view. The town was surrounded by a short stone wall, maybe coming up to my waist if was standing. A large ornate wooden sign was seated right next to where the wall broke, allowing the road to lead into town. 'Welcome to Crimson Peak' was written in vibrant red letters. Looking around I figured out why the town was named Crimson Peak. The grass and leaves on the trees were the same vibrant red the welcome sign was written in. While it wasn't necessarily a 'peak' the hill this town was on was the tallest I'd noticed in the area. I pulled into town, the people going about what looked like daily routines. The buildings were small but the design was just as ornate as the welcome sign outside the wall. I pulled up to a small building that had fruit stands out front, assuming it was a store. I parked off to the side and got off Bumblebee. I walked around to the front, joining the daily routine. I walked through the doors, the sight of food proving that this was a grocery store.

"Good morning, and welcome to Crimson's." A young girl dressed in a white shirt and, you guessed it, red apron greeted me as I walked in. "Good morning." I greeted back. "Can I help you find anything?" I nodded, "Uh, yeah sure, I'm headed to Mistral and could use a few snacks and some directions." She smiled and pointed down one of the aisles to the right. "You can find some snacks down that aisle. As for directions, Darwin at the Inn across the street should be able to help you out." I thanked her and headed over to the aisle she pointed to. I grabbed a few snack cakes, paid, and went over to the inn across the street. It was a nice, comfy looking building. I walked up to the counter and rang the bell. A few moments later a short chubby faunus man came over. Instead of hair his head was covered in feathers, as were his arms, which were exposed due to his sleeveless vest. "Can I help you madam?" His voice was gentle, befitting his appearance. "Yes, I'm trying to get directions to Mistral. One of the workers at Crimson's told me to ask a Darwin here at the inn for help." Physically he looked excited, his feathers fluffing up, and his movements jittery. "Oh, I love when they send people my way." He trotted out from around the counter. "Follow me please." He held the door open to a room that said employees only. I stepped through and then he walked ahead, leading me down a short hallway.

"While also the innkeeper here in Crimson Peak, I am an avid cartographer." He looked back at the confused look on my face. "Ah, that means I draw maps dear." He opened another door and inside were multiple tables with papers strewn about them. On the far most wall a giant shelf stood with rolls of paper poking out. "I'm not entirely sure why I enjoy cartography as much as I do but for the past several years I've collected or drawn maps from all over Remnant." He walked over to the shelf and rolled a giant ladder along the edge. He climbed up and started poking through a few of the papers. "Ah yes, here we are. You said you need to get to Mistral, correct?" I nodded and he pulled the paper from the shelf and came down the ladder. He brushed a few papers aside from one of the larger tables and unrolled the paper in his hand. "Okay so here, as you can tell by the mark, is Crimson Peak. Now, how soon would you like to be in Mistral?" He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and placed them on his face, scanning over the intricate map. "Uh, as soon as I can get there would be fine. I don't need to take the scenic route." I watched as he traced his thick fingers over some of the many lines that I assumed were roads and paths.

"And how are you traveling dear? By which means of transportation I mean." He looked over at me, his glasses magnifying the size of his eyes, making him look almost like an- "Owl!" He looked at me, an expression of confusion on his face. "Sorry, I'd been trying to figure out your faunus trait." He smiled at that happily, "Oh no need to worry my dear, I enjoy when people take interest in faunus culture. Now by which means are you traveling?" I glanced down as he continued to trace his fingers over the lines. "Motorcycle, Bumblebee can handle dirt roads but I don't think I can take any mountain paths." He glanced back down at the map following new lines that branched from Crimson Peak. "Okay so there are two different routes you can take. So, if you travel West, towards the coast, you'll come to a point where you must go either North or South. Going South will take you to a train depot where you can board a train and take it all the way to Mistral. You'll have to travel a little further South than intended but you also won't have to ride your motorbike as much. However, it will travel along the northern most edge of the Mistralian Sea." I nodded as he showed me the way on the map. "Or the other route you could take will go along the southern edge of the sea. This route is a little shorter than the previous but that path has been known to be bandit territory along with the creatures of Grimm. For this path you will simply travel East from here. There are plenty of villages along the way, and plenty of signs posted to direct travelers to Mistral." He started rolling the map up and looked at me. "So which path sounds pleasing to you?" I went back over what he told me in my head. "I think I'll go East. There's no point in back tracking and then going out of my way." He climbed back up the ladder and deposited the map back on the shelf. "Well I do say it's nearly noon, if you leave now you should make great time. By motorbike the trip should only take a few days. Better than the weeks' worth of traveling by foot I might add. Any way I wish you luck on your journey." He led me back outside and I crossed the street to get Bumblebee. I started her up and rode out of town the opposite way I came in, waving to Darwin as I left. "Well Yang," I told myself, "no one said the journey would be short." I sped down the hill, leaving Crimson Peak behind me.


	8. Blake

"Come on Blake, let's go." I grabbed her hand and pulled her along with me. "Yang, I don't want to go." I kept a firm grip on her hand as she lightly struggled to get away. "Aw come on, it'll be fun. I'll cook you some salmon if you just play along." The struggling stopped and I laughed. The music was pounding through my body, trying to get me to move with the rhythm. "It's just a little bit of dancing Blake, nothing to be afraid of." I pulled her out into the middle of the dance floor, the music getting faster and more intense. I let it take over, controlling my body and letting the music move for me. I looked over at Blake, she was watching me, bouncing slightly with the music. "I'm not a great dancer." She said, still bobbing slightly. I grabbed her arm and spun her around, pulling her in close, before getting her body to move with the rhythm. "It's not about being good," I shouted over the progressively louder music, "it's about having fun." I spun her back out away from me and let go, allowing the spin to take her. Slowly I could see the music getting to her as she matched the beat of the music and her slight bobbing becoming full movements. Other people littered the dance floor, moving to their own rhythm but the only rhythm that mattered was hers. She danced in closer, inches away from me smiling and laughing. "Yeah, I guess you were right, it is about having fun." We danced closer, the music drowned out by my own heartbeat. Faster and faster, I could hear the thumping of my heart louder and louder. Everyone else melted out of my vision until it was just me and Blake in the middle of the dance floor, having fun and enjoying ourselves. I felt a pull on my shoulder bringing me back a few steps. I turned to look at the figure, "Hey, what's your issue?". I locked eyes with red hair and a Grimm mask. "Mind if I cut in?" A quick flash and everything faded.

My eyes shot open, panic overtaking me. I sat up slowly and looked around. Ember Celica was sitting on the nightstand, resting right beside my arm. The lamp on the nightstand turned on at my touch. I looked around the room I was in. Wooden walls, nice pictures, and a window overlooking a forest. "Oh yeah." I muttered as I realized where I was. Hours of travel yesterday had got me further in land but no closer to the Mistralian Sea. I came across a small well protected village and shacked up at the inn for the night. I got out of bed, wanting to get some fresh air. I grabbed the room key before I left, and went outside. The light from the streetlamps illuminated small circles of orange on the ground, the lamp next to the inn illuminating Bumblebee. I stepped off the patio, my feet tickled by the cool damp grass. A small swing was suspended from a nearby tree, gently blowing in the night's breeze. I sat on the swing and slowly rocked back and forth, the motion almost hypnotic.

I thought back to the dream, my heart starting to beat faster in my chest as I did. "What the hell?" I mumbled to myself. That dream was nice, so fun, so enjoyable, so… real? I don't know if that's the right word but it felt… right. Blake was an amazing person, a great teammate, and an even better friend. But the way I was feeling in that dream? It was something new, something exciting, something… I'd never experienced before. I looked up at the sky, at the uncountable number of stars. She could be staring at the same sky right now, and neither of us would know. A desire burned in my chest. I wanted, no, needed to know if she was okay. I wanted to see her again, to tell her she doesn't need to keep running away. That I would protect her, from her past, _and_ the future. I mean the only other time I'd felt like this was for… my family. Ruby, Dad, Qrow, the people I… loved… "Do I… love Blake?" I directed the question at the stars, as if they could answer back. _Do I love Blake?_ The question bounced around my head, almost like a light buzzing. I looked back to the inn, swinging my legs to match the movement of the swing. I sat on the swing, gliding back and forth for I don't know how long, until a howl pierced through the night. It wasn't close, but it reminded me that I'm outside, alone, and unarmed in the middle of the night. I got off the swing and went back to the inn. I unlocked my room and stepped inside, relocking it behind me. I set the key back on the nightstand and turned the lamp off. I crawled back into bed and stared up at the ceiling, wanting an answer. "Do I love Blake?" I asked one more time, before closing my eyes and going back to sleep.

A light knocking and the creak of a door woke me up. "Sorry to bother you, but we will be serving breakfast soon if you are hungry." At the mention of food my stomach let out a loud growl. The man in the doorway smiled, "Yeah, I think I'd like some breakfast." I laughed and rubbed the back of my head. I set my arm in place and grabbed my room key. I left my boots and jacket in the room and walked to the dining room barefoot. I sat at an empty table tucked away in the corner, a spot where I could watch the rest of the room. A few minutes passed and they brought food out and set it on a long table against the wall. I got up and walked over to the table, laid out were eggs, both scrambled and sunny-side up, toast, bacon, pancakes, sausage, and waffles. I grabbed a plate and loaded it with a little bit of everything, grabbed a fork, and went back to the table in the corner. I sat and started in on the pancakes. They were thick and fluffy, the edges slightly crisp giving it a nice crunch and smooth texture. I watched others come and go from the dining room, the sounds of chairs rubbing against the floor and utensils scratching plates quickly filled the room. I ignored it and continued to eat my pile of food, focusing on the eggs next. I poked at the yolk with my fork, letting it spill out and soak into the rest of the food. I scooped up a fork full of egg and placed it on my toast. A small TV came to life in the corner, drawing my attention away from my food. A news station was on, the headlines too small for me to read from my table. I ignored it and went back to eating.

I finished off the last of the sausage, the plate empty except the few splotches of egg yolk still left. I walked my plate up to the table and piled it up with the other dirty plates. I went back to my room to get ready to leave. I rummaged through my bag, looking for some money to pay with when I checked out and laced my boots up. I grabbed my jacket as headed out to the front desk. The guy behind the desk was reading a book and enjoying the music playing on his radio. "Hi, I'm checking out." He closed his book and turned down the radio. "Not a problem, I'll just need your room key." I handed him the key and the lien I had pulled out already. "Okay everything appears to be in order. Have a nice day." I smiled, "You too." and left. I hopped on Bumblebee, still parked where I left it last night, and set out for the day's journey. The terrain was different than then the open fields and rolling hills of the coast. The fields were replaced by forests and the hills by mountains. The air was thicker too, harder to breath in and lacking the sweet smell of the ocean.

The dry dusty road became damp and compact the further east I went, giving Bumblebee better grip. Like a low slow buzzing, my dream from last night kept playing in my head, over and over, like a song that you just can't stop hearing. I shook my head, but the buzzing persisted. _Why? Why do I keep thinking about this?_ I took a deep breath in, steadying my heartbeat. _I just need to find Ruby, focus on finding Ruby. Come on Yang._ I twisted the accelerator, rocketing forward, the wind playing with my hair. The sky slowly shifted from orange to light blue as the day progressed, the sunlight warming the cool morning air. I had to have been riding for at least an hour or two, it's hard to track time when you're just… going. The forest got thicker, the trees not as spread out as they were, the grass and plants on the side of the road larger and more out of control. All at once the smell of smoke filled the air. I grabbed the brakes and came to a complete stop. I looked in the sky for any signs of smoke, but the trees made it hard to see anything above ground level. "Damn, where's it coming from?" I looked around, looking for any sign that would lead me to the fire. I noticed the air starting to get hazy, the wind blowing through the trees. _The wind, I can find the fire by going against the wind!_ I stood still and let a big gust hit me, blowing me hair back. _Ha, found it._ I tore down the road, the smoke getting heavier in the air.

A large fire was visible from the road as I sped into the town. A large barn looking building was engulfed in flames, the townsfolk desperately trying to put the fire out. I slid to a stop and jumped off Bumblebee, running at a dead sprint to the fire. "Grimm!" I heard the loud roar of the Ursa before it came busting through the burning building, the swirling black mist mixing with the flames. I activated Ember Celica and charged the monster, ready for a fight. It took a swipe at one of the men who was still trying to put the fire out, barely missing him as he dove to the side. The Ursa lumbered forward, pulling its arm back, readying for another strike. I launched myself forward with a blast, readying a punch of my own. I struck at the distracted Ursa, landing a punch to its face. I triggered a shot and sent it flying back, crashing away from the fire and back into the woods. I turned to the man the Ursa attacked as it got back up and roared. "Handle the fire, I'll take care of the Grimm." He nodded and turned to the others. "Gather all the water you can, we have to get this under control! See if we have any ice Dust in the storage house!" The Ursa charged, challenging me with a deafening roar. I launched a volley of blasts at it, trying to slow it down with little success as I dove to the side to avoid it barreling into me. I launched a few more blasts as it slowed to turn, catching it in the side and knocking it over. I ran forward, trying to finish it while it was down, when a massive force crashed into me.

I rolled into the fall, coming up standing, and now staring down two Ursa instead of one. The new Ursa had bone like spikes sticking out of its back, a clear sign of an older and more dangerous Grimm. "Come on!" I shouted, issuing a challenge of my own. The Ursa I'd already been fighting charged again, followed by the new one. I ducked under the swing of the first and delivered a hard punch to its leg, toppling it. I turned on the other as it brought its large clawed paw down on me. Smashing me into the dirt with enough force to shatter the ground around me. I rolled between its legs as it came smashing down again. I kicked it in the knee, causing it to fall forward into the crater it made. I turned back on the first Ursa, reacting in time to bring up my arms in defense as it took another swing at me. I grabbed tightly to its and pulled in close, delivering blast after blast to its chest at point blank range. I kept punching until I had blasted a hole through its chest, black mist filling the air as it evaporated into nothing. I focused my attention on the last Ursa, cracking my knuckles. It glared at me and roared, before turning and running into the village. I chased after it, sweat dripping down me and my heart beating faster than ever. _Yeah, this is just what I needed._ The Ursa ran to the barn, the fire still burning, and roared, scaring the townsfolk as the dropped their water and ran. I closed the distance with a blast and jumped on its back, gripping to the spikes as it tossed and bucked trying to throw me off. I grabbed one of the largest spikes on its back and pulled and twisted until it snapped off, the Ursa roaring in pain. I jumped off, spike in hand, and once again ran at the monster. I ducked under another swing from the Ursa and, using both hands, forced the spike up and through the Ursa's head, cutting off the final roar it let out. I gave it a hard shove, forcing it to fall back, dead before it hit the ground. As I watched it start to evaporate the man from before came up holding a large sky-blue crystal. He threw the crystal into the fire, seconds later the entire building freezing over. He turned to me, a large smile on his face.

"Thanks for the help miss, our Huntsman is out of town at the moment, we wouldn't have made it without you." I deactivated Ember Celica as more of the townspeople came out of hiding. "No trouble here, fighting monsters and helping people is what I do." I dusted myself off, the dirt from my impact with the ground still thick on my clothes. "Stick around for a while, we'll have a little party at the town hall with food and we'll even fill your bike up for you." He motioned to a few people and they went and grabbed Bumblebee, rolling it over to one of the many buildings near what I assumed was there town hall. "Um, sure, that sounds great." I smiled as he led me to town hall. "So how did that building catch fire?" The man grumbled as he held the door open to the large building that was their town hall. "Those damn Ursa. They attacked us and we tried to trap them in the barn until our Huntsman returned. The barn we trapped them in had some of our Dust barrels stored there and the damn things must've went off." He had me sit at a table and sent a girl around my age over. "I'm gonna go talk to the others so we can start preparing, Blake, keep miss, uh," He looked at me for a moment, "Yang, my name's Yang." "Keep miss Yang company for a while, show her around, answer any questions she has." I looked at the girl and faltered. _Her name's Blake._ "Yes father." A dull ache hit my chest. The girl smiled at me and grabbed my hand, "Come on, I'll show you around." She pulled me away from the table, leading me back outside. "Uh, okay?"

I followed her around town as she told me about the history of her town and explained what some of the buildings were for. _Why's her name have to be Blake?_ I thought as she pointed out the storage house. _She's not like Blake. Blake is quiet, dark haired, and a little talle- wait stop why do you care?_ I struggled with my inner conflict, "So where are you from?" The voice brought me back, "Huh?" The girl laughed. "Where are you from?" I composed myself, ignoring the conflict in my head. "I'm from Patch, it's a small Island off the coast of Vale." I looked at the ground, following her feet as we continued to walk through the town. "So, Yang, where'd you learn to fight Grimm?" I looked up at some of the buildings we passed, a sad yearning for both Beacon and _my_ Blake present in my mind. "Beacon Academy, back in Vale." "Oh, we heard about the attack during the Vytal Festival. I'm sorry." She looked to the ground as well clearly upset, "Hey no reason for you to be sad." She looked up a tear in her eye. "I can't help it, it's my Semblance." I gave her a questioning look. "My Semblance is Hyper-Empathy, I can feel the emotions of those around me, and they in turn affect my emotions. You're sad and… I don't know I can't really name the other emotion. But I can feel them." I took a few steps away from her. "Oh, I didn't mean to make you feel sad." She smiled and stepped closer. "Don't worry about it, anyway, what's your Semblance?" A group of people carrying food and decorations passed us. "I draw strength from the hits I take in a fight. As long as I don't get knocked unconscious I can stockpile the energy and deliver stronger punches." "Oh, that is so cool, I wish my semblance was useful in a fight." A silence fell between us, I glanced over at her, the bubbly girl now unusually silent. "Let's go back Yang, they should be getting a lot ready by now." I nodded and we walked back, Blake still silent and her face locked in a blank expression.


	9. Author's Note

Just a quick update. The chapters will steadily be getting longer and as such it will be taking longer in between new chapters. I will try to put out a chapter every week but with school also getting in the way I can make no promises. Also I love how much interest this story has gotten but I can only do so much without feedback. I'm asking for your reviews and criticism. Even if you like the story and find nothing wrong with how its progressing let me know so I can continue doing it the same way I have been. Thanks for reading.


	10. Empathy and Understanding

The air in the town hall smelled amazing, a mixture of all the different food the town's people had cooked for the party. "See Yang," Blake motioned to all the food and people in the building, "I told you it would be amazing." She dragged me over to where the line started and handed me a plate. I shuffled down the line with the rest of the people, grabbing the food I wanted and being dragged to a table by Blake. The people were very talkative, everyone chatting with somebody else about daily jobs like the incident this afternoon never even happened. I picked at my food while Blake went on and on about… I'm not sure I wasn't really paying attention. "Hey," I looked up from my food, Blake frowning. "what's wrong? And don't try lying, I can feel that something's wrong." I stared at her and then back at my food, "I don't want to talk about it right now. It's personal." She opened her mouth, ready to say more but didn't get the chance. "On behalf of this town and its people," a loud voice broke out over the chatter. A man at the far end of the hall, a weapon strapped to his back, spoke loudly to get everyone's attention. "I'd like to thank you, Miss Yang, for stepping up and helping this town while I was away!" The hall erupted with clapping, all for me. I didn't know what to do, I'd never been the center of attention before and all I could do was smile sheepishly and look down at my food.

The clapping died down and slowly people returned to their own conversations. The Huntsman walked over to the table where Blake and I were eating. "I want to thank you personally for helping out these fine people." He stuck out his hand I firmly shook it. "I don't know what I'd have done if they got hurt when I was gone." His tone was serious, one of a true Huntsman. "I was just doing what I could, if I can help people why wouldn't I?" He nodded in agreement. "Spoken like a true Huntress. You'll grow in to a fine professional one day." He nodded in respect and went to a table where Blake's father was talking to two important looking people. "So, is your dad like… mayor or something?" Blake shook her head. "No but he is part of the council. Our town is run by a council of three who make decisions based on a vote. Klyde, the Huntsman, has some pull in decisions as well but ultimately the decision is always left up to the council." I glanced back over at the table, the group of four eating and chatting. The other two members, a man and woman, stood out slightly more than the rest of the people in the hall, their clothing a little more… sophisticated. On the other hand, Blake's father wore simple clothes like the rest of the residents.

"Do you have a place you're staying tonight?" The question caught me off guard, I didn't think about how long I'd been here. I glanced out the window, the sky slowly getting a yellow/orange tint to it. "How far is the nearest town?" She thought for a second, "An hour or two, but it'd probably be dark by the time you get there." I could risk the travel but if I get caught by a group of Grimm or bandits it would only take longer. "I guess I'll just stay at the inn for the night then." Blake shook her head quickly. "No, I'll talk to Dad, you'll stay with us for tonight." She got up and went over to the table her dad was at. I could see them talking back and forth but couldn't hear what they were saying due to the noise of everyone else. They stopped and Blake came back over, "You'll stay at our place, I'll go talk to my mom and see if she can get stuff ready for you." I nodded and went back to eating my food. It had been a while since I had something this good, I can't even remember the last time Dad had made dinner that was as great as this. I finished off my plate and went back up for more. I didn't get as much this time and quickly finished it off. I set my plate on the growing stack and picked it up, looking for a place to take them. Blake's dad walked over and grabbed half the stack, "We can wash them over here." and led me through a door into a large utility kitchen. I set my stack down near the sink and started running water. "We have town lunches every now and then so we built this kitchen for that purpose." I started washing the plates, one after the other. "I don't think I ever got your name?" He laughed and set his stack of plates down. "Sorry about that. Well then let me formally introduce myself. Cyrus is the name, Cyrus Auron." My sink filled with water so I turned the flow off and started washing plates.

"Blake seems to have found a new friend in you." I looked over at him, he was smiling and washing his own stack of dishes. "I'm sure you noticed by now, there aren't too many kids in this town. A lot of them are off at school or one of the academies. Blake's a nice girl, sweet, cares about everyone. She tried to go to school herself but her semblance… makes it hard to be around people her own age. A few people she can manage, but a class full, all those conflicting emotions… they drive her crazy. The stress on her psyche it creates takes one hell of a toll on her. I'm just glad she found a friend in you." I stopped scrubbing the plates, the story too much for me to hear, my eyes starting to sting. "What's wrong Yang?" I looked at him, wiping my eyes dry. "I can't stay." I pulled my hands out of the water, leaving the dish in the sink. "Well of course you can't stay forever, but you can visit as much as you want." I shook my head. "No, I can't. I don't live on Anima. I live on Patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. I'm here because I'm looking for my sister, she left months ago to head for Haven Academy." I looked into his eyes, fighting back more tears. "Even after I find her, we'll still need to find the rest of our team." I stared into the sink, my reflection looking back. "Your daughter, Blake, she is amazing. She's everything you said, but… there's a good chance that when I leave tomorrow… you'll… neither of you will ever see me again." Cyrus also stopped washing, and looked over in my direction. "I'm not so emotionally stable right now either, I'm sure Blake has picked up on that." I held out my right arm, I'm sure Cyrus had noticed already but I wanted to make sure he understood. "When I lost my arm… it messed me up pretty bad. Still does…but not as much, the only time it really does is at night… my nightmares. I have a partner too… Blake… that's my partners name. And I've been having some problems with that too, emotions I don't understand. Right now, the way I am, I don't think I should be around your daughter too much, not with a Semblance like hers."

"Heh," his laugh surprised me, "Blake was right." I looked at Cyrus, confused. "When she asked me about you staying with us for the night she mentioned that she had the feeling we wouldn't see you again after that. That's why she was so insistent." He pulled a cigar and a lighter from his shirt pocket and lit it. "To Blake it doesn't matter, she made a friend," Cyrus looked over at me and smiled, "a good friend who is a good person." He turned back to the sink, cigar still in his mouth. "Let's finish these plates up, Blake will want to spend some time with you." I nodded, a fresh smile on my face, and plunged my hands into the warm, soapy, water.

I followed Cyrus to his house but it wasn't too hard to figure out which one was his once I noticed Bumblebee sitting next to the porch. Nothing fancy, but his house was nice, big enough for his family and then a little more. He opened the door for me and followed me inside. I took my boots off once inside and set them next to the door. "You can set your jacket in the living room." I followed Cyrus to the living room where Blake was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV. A woman who I could only guess was Cyrus' wife was sitting in a large chair in the corner, reading a book. I hung my jacket from the coatrack, tucking my sunglasses and gloves into one of the pockets. "So, you must be the young lady Blake has been telling me about. My name is Laura." The woman set her book down and came over. She looked like a grown-up version of her daughter, except her eyes were light blue, unlike her daughter's green. "Yeah," I smiled at her friendly greeting, "my name's Yang." She lightly took me by the shoulder, "Let me show you around." I followed her through the house. "Kitchen's right through there, you can help yourself but I'm sure you got a filling meal already. Dining room is right across from the kitchen and the first-floor restroom is on the left right before the stairs." I followed Laura upstairs, admiring some of the pictures they had hung on the walls. "Restroom is right here at the top of the stairs on your right. Down on the right is Blake's room, I have a pillow and blankets in there for you, and on the left is Blake's game room. My and my husband's room is down in the basement along with my husband's office and our exercise equipment." She turned to me and smiled, a calm washing over me. "Welcome to our home." I returned the smile and followed Laura back downstairs, where I got the impression that Blake was waiting impatiently for me, as she got off the couch the moment we got into the living room.

"Let's go upstairs," I could tell she was happy that I was here, the conversation with Cyrus still fresh in my mind. "There's something I want to show you." She grabbed my hand but stopped and looked down. She turned my hand over, staring at the smooth black and yellow metal. I gripped her hand and smiled, "Don't worry about it, come on, I thought you wanted to show me something." She nodded, smiling, and led me upstairs. She took me to the end of the hallway and threw the door open what Laura said was Blake's game room. Comfy looking bean bag chairs were on the floor positioned in front of a big tv screen. Below that was a shelf that had a few different systems and a bunch of games and movies stacked up on it. The walls were covered in posters for different games, movies, and bands. "This isn't even the best part." she flipped the light switch closest to the door off and flipped the other one on. The room illuminated in shifting neon colors as lights running across the ceiling and edge of the room came on. "Okay, that's pretty cool." I admitted, looking around at all the different lights. It was a rainbow that flowed down the string of lights constantly changing the colors of different parts of the room. "Mom and Dad let me do whatever with this room since they are in the basement, so I had Dad help string up all these lights and hook them up to the light switch." She flopped down into one of the bean bag chairs, sinking into it. "Come on, sit down, we can watch movies or play games."

I flopped on the bean bag next to her, sinking into the bag and sprawling out. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, a cartoon showing up on the screen. She got up and walked over to the shelf, examining all the games and movies. "So, do you wanna watch a movie? Or play a game?" I awkwardly shrugged in the chair, "I'm fine with either, whatever you want to do is fine." She grabbed a case and took the disc out, putting it in one of the game systems. She came back over but walked past the chair. I tipped my head to get an upside-down view of what she was doing. She opened the closet, a minifridge sitting snugly inside. "What's your preferred drink?" She opened the fridge and it was lined with different bottles and cans. I pointed to the top shelf on the door, "Monster, I love energy drinks." She grabbed one of the cans from the shelf and grabbed a drink for herself. She tossed me the can and grabbed two controllers. She handed one to me and sat back down. "Okay, so in this game we can play together or on our own. We start off with nothing but a map and we're dropped into an open world somewhere random. We have to use the environment and resources around us to make shelter and survive. Like I was saying we can either work together or each go off and do our own thing." I nodded and took a drink from my can, fighting games were usually my forte but this sounded fun. "Okay then, let's play."

* * *

I yawned, incredibly tired, and reached for my Monster… it was empty. "You getting tired too?" I asked. I looked over and caught Blake mid yawn. "Yeah I'd say I'm tired." She looked over at me, yawning again. "I have some comfier clothes if you want to sleep in those tonight." I glanced down at my clothes, "Yeah sure, I'm tired of sleeping in this." We went across the hall to her room, she handed me a long sleeve shirt and some sweat pants. "You change in the bathroom and then if you want I can start the washer for you." I nodded, "Yeah I probably shouldn't pass on that." She laughed and I went to go change. The shirt she gave me had the name of a band on it, one I didn't recognize. The sweatpants were nice and fluffy, definitely better than my shorts I'd been sleeping in.

I handed her my shirt and shorts when I got out of the bathroom. "I'll run these downstairs." I nodded and went back to Blake's room, laying down on the blankets that had been left for me. I stared up at the ceiling, small plastic stars were stuck in various places. Just like in her game room, Blake had stuck up posters all over the walls. I sat up and glanced around, she had a bookshelf tucked away in the corner full of different books and magazines. A large mirror sat on her dresser, the top of the dresser cluttered with things like brushes, make-up, and a few books. I stood and examined myself in the mirror. I looked weird in these clothes, the large shirt and sweatpants hanging from my body, weird looking but also nice. My hair was duller than usual, dirty from my recent travels and I hadn't had the proper time to take care of it. I slipped Ember Celica off my wrists, setting them on the dresser. I twisted my arm off next, and slid it from the shirt sleeve, the sleeve now hanging limply at my side. I sat my arm next to Ember Celica and sat back on the floor. I heard footsteps getting closer, and a few seconds later Blake entered the room. "I started the washer and left a note for Mom asking her to put your stuff in the dryer when she gets up in the morning." I sat and watched as she flopped face first onto her bed, sighing. "I'm so tired, today's 'excitement'," she flashed air quotes, "was a little more action than we are use to getting around here." I stretched out and rested my head on the pillow, yawning again. I heard the bed squeaking as Blake shifted around, the lights going out a few seconds later. I looked back up at the ceiling and the little plastic stars I saw earlier were now glowing, giving off a faint green light.

"Hey Yang?" I glanced over towards Blake's voice, her silhouette visible from the stars. "Yeah?" The room was silent for a second. "Why do you have a metal arm?" More silence. "I'm sure you heard about the attack at Vale right?" "Mhm." I took a breath before starting my story. "Well, Beacon is where I went to school. When the school was in a panic I went to go help people and find my friends. I found my teammate, Blake, being attacked by…" I choked up for a second, I hadn't intentionally thought about him in so long. "Yang?" Her voice was hushed and worried. "Adam Taurus, she was attacked by Adam Taurus. I saw him stab her and I just got so angry. I charged at him without thinking and the next thing I remember is waking up, in bed at home with bandages wrapped around where my right arm use to be." There was an awkward silence between us. "Oh…" I stared back up at the ceiling wanting to fall asleep. "Is… is that why you were acting so weird around me earlier, because my name is also Blake?" I opened my mouth but didn't say anything. I didn't want to lie to her. "Yeah… that's why. When I woke up a friend told me that Blake had just…ran off. It made me angry, angry at her, at myself, at everything. But I'm not angry at her anymore, I… I'm not sure what I feel." Talking about it felt weird, like all my thoughts are spread out like a book. I closed my eyes and sighed, "I think you love her." Air caught in my throat. I sat up and coughed roughly, trying to regain my composure. "What?" I asked. "I've been thinking about it, that emotion I picked up from you that I couldn't quite place. Then I realized it felt similar to how I feel about my mom and dad. And when you were talking just now, about Blake, you felt it again. I just put it together." I laid there, letting the truth of her words wash over me.

"Maybe… maybe you're right." I don't know why but I started laughing, my eyes tearing up. I kept laughing a few tears rolling down my cheeks. "Oh my god, what's wrong with me?" I managed to get that out in my fit of laughter. "I don't think anything is wrong with you. People like who they like." I stood up, my laughter dying down. "I need some fresh air." I opened the door and stood in the doorway. "Wanna come with me?" I heard the shuffling of blankets and felt hands wrap around my arm. "Sure, let's go for a walk." We went down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. I opened the door, the fresh night air flowing into the house. I stepped out onto the deck, Blake close behind me. We stepped off the porch and stayed close to the middle of the road as we strolled through town. "It's weird you know. I mean I always thought Blake was cool and a great friend, I mean my whole life I've always been attracted to other guys, and now?" I started laughing again. "Sorry Blake, you're probably bored listening to me talk about… Blake." I looked over at her, the moonlight illuminating both of us. "No, it's fine, really." We walked past the barn that burnt earlier, half scorched but still standing.

"I'm sure you have stuff you want to talk about." I tried to get something from her, I only know what her dad had told me. "Well… I wish I could go to school and be around other people like you. I told you that my semblance tunes me into the emotions of others. Well I can't really control it. I'm always tuned in, that's why I couldn't go to combat school, even though I really tried." She sighed, looking down. "There would just be too many people, I'd get burnt out. I've tried practicing methods that are recommended for controlling your semblance but none of them have worked. That's why I mainly just stay in town, the people are friendly and they know that I can only handle being around a few people at a time… other than my parents, they can control themselves well." I thought back to when I was first learning about my semblance. "Maybe you just haven't figured out the right way yet." She turned to look at me, "What do you me-" A low growl caused me to stop in my tracks, shooting my arm out and stopping Blake. "Quiet."

I slowly turned looking for the source of the noise. Another growl rolled through the air, closer this time. I scanned the buildings and saw fierce red eyes glowing out past one of the houses. I reached back and grabbed Blake's arm. "Stay calm, and slowly back up." We took a few steps back, my eyes never breaking contact with the red ones. Another growl came from the right. I quickly glanced over to the right, catching a flash of four more, glowing red eyes. "Okay, listen closely, I need to you to run back home, my arm and weapon are sitting on your dresser. You need to get those for me." My eyes darted back and forth keeping constant contact with all three sets of eyes. "But what will happen to you?" I kept backing up, keeping Blake close behind me. "I'll be fine, I'll keep them distracted to let you get away. If I make enough noise they should follow me and hopefully get Klyde's attention. I'm going to count to three, when I say three I'll run and shout to get their attention, when they go after me you need to run as fast as possible okay?" Her grip on my arm loosened, "Okay." I took a deep breath, exhaling long and slow. "One." I planted my feet into the ground. "Two." Blake let go of my arm, preparing to run. "Three!"


	11. Reunited Sort of

**So at this point I feel it is appropriate to state that this is where my story and timeline diverge from the canonical RWBY story and timeline. I will be working around the story and volume as it releases and will follow it to an extent but it is still my own story. Anyway here's the newest chapter.**

"Come on!" I shouted, dodging another clawed swipe. The Beowolves were fast, and every time they attacked I had less and less time to dodge. _I can't do anything against them right now. I just hope Blake gets back in time._ I picked up a potted plant and lobbed it at the nearest Beowolf, the pot shattering on its head. It stood on its back legs and let loose a loud thundering howl. _Come on Klyde, you had to have heard that one._ I kept running, trying to keep their attention but staying just far enough ahead of them. I jumped over one of the produce stands in the middle of town and ducked behind it, a Beowolf crashing into a moment later. The other two jumped over the stand, turning to face me. The one I hit with the plant howled again, signaling the other two to attack. I rolled under the one coming right at me, narrowly avoiding a claw. I came up on my feet but didn't have time to react as the third Beowolf slashed me across the chest, not breaking my aura but leaving long jagged marks in my borrowed shirt. "Hey, I'm only borrowing this!" I shouted angrily. A loud retort rang out through the air, the Beowolf that just attacked me dropping dead.

"Miss Yang, come over here!" "Yang, come on. It's dangerous!" Klyde and Blake were running up one the road to my left. "Now, Miss Yang!" Another loud retort rang out, hitting the Alpha in the arm but barely making it flinch. I ran over to them, Klyde firing off a few more rounds to keep the Beowolves at bay. I got behind Klyde, and turned to Blake, my arm and Ember Celica in her arms. I rolled up the right sleeve and had Blake help me get arm set into place. She slid Ember Celica onto my wrists, "Now go get 'em!" I activated Ember Celica and stood next to Klyde. "Can that weapon fight in close combat?" I quickly studied Klyde's weapon. It looked like a crossbow but from the sound of the shots my guess was it fired actual shells instead of arrows. "No." he twisted the grip of the crossbow, the bulky weapon folding and contracting much like I'd seen Crescent Rose do many a time. He handed the deactivated weapon to Blake and grabbed the much larger one that was still on his back. With one hand he swung a massive sword over his head and brought it down in front of him. "This one however, likes to get up close and personal." He flicked his thumb over the handle, a fierce orange glow coating the edge of the blade.

"I'll take the Alpha!" I fired off a shot, blasting the larger Beowolf in the face. It shook off the blast and growled at me. I walked towards it as the Alpha charged. I brought its large clawed paw down in an arcing motion. I grabbed its arm and used its own momentum to flip it up and over me, slamming it into the ground. I kept a hold of its arm with my left hand and brought my right fist straight down on its arm, a loud cracking sound filling my ears. I jumped back as it swiped at me with its uninjured arm. It rolled over and stood, its left arm hanging limply at its side. It charged again, this time throwing its whole weight at me. It landed on top of me snarling and snapping at my face. "Yang!" I held up my right arm, the Beowolf clamping down on it. I swung with my free hand, delivering a flurry of punches to the side of its face and neck, blasting it with Ember Celica each time. "How's it taste!" I shouted out, my ears ringing from the multiple blasts of Ember Celica. Another hard punch and the Alpha let go, tumbling off me. The red glow in its eyes faded and it melted into black mist. Blake ran over and helped me off the ground, still clutching Kylde's weapon close to her chest. "You're quiet the feisty one." Two halves of the last Beowolf were melting away as Klyde walked over to us. "Now," his tone got serious, "what were you two doing out at night?"

"It's my fault," I spoke up, "I needed some fresh air and brought Blake along with me. Don't be mad at her." He sighed, his posture relaxing. "I'm glad you're both okay, but what were you thinking going out without your weapon in the middle of the night? It's dangerous, more so now then it use to be. Blake could've gotten hurt or worse because you were unprepared!" I stared at the ground, ashamed with myself. He was right, I didn't think about anything but myself. "Don't yell at her. She was feeling sick and needed some fresh air, it's not her fault!" I listened to them argue back and forth. "She put you in danger!" "She protected me!" _Damnit Yang, now they're arguing because of you._ "Just… just stop. Let's just go back and get to sleep." I turned and started walking to the house, Blake following shortly after. I got to the porch and waited for her before opening the door and trudging upstairs. I tossed Ember Celica on the dresser and laid on the ground covering myself with the blankets. I heard Blake enter the room and lay on her bed. "Yang?" I didn't move, I didn't respond, I couldn't. Klyde was right and I put Blake in danger. I was so upset with myself. _Way to go hotshot, you almost got someone killed because you can't get a grip on your own emotions._ I heard her sigh after a few moments, "Goodnight Yang."

"Damn we just can't win, can we?" I opened my eyes and I was sitting at the kitchen table back home, my inner-self sitting across from me. "What were we thinking?" I asked her. She sighed leaning back in her chair. "We weren't, that's the problem. A truth bomb was thrown in our face and we couldn't handle it." She was right, she was always right. "I know it's pointless to ask but what should I do?" She looked at me and shrugged, "What can we do? Ruby is still out there, and we need to find her." I sighed and rested my forehead on the table, "That's not what I meant." I heard her laugh, "Yeah I know, I don't have an answer on the emotions problem, mainly because you don't have an answer but that's beside the point. You need to figure out what you want first, but either way we need to continue moving forward. We can't let this little hiccup slow us down." I lifted my head and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right, how do you always know what to say?" She smiled this time and laughed. "Well I'm basically your inner voice of reason personified soooooo…" I laughed and stood up from the table, she did the same, mirroring my movements. We closed the distance between us and hugged, "We're gonna be fine Yang, just keep believing in yourself." We broke off the hug, "See you later." I said, turning away from the table. "We should probably apologize to Blake." I heard her say, right before everything faded.

I groaned as I woke up, my face resting on my prosthetic. _Not as uncomfortable as I thought it'd be._ I noted as I rolled into a sitting position. I looked around, Blake wasn't in her bed and sunlight was pouring in through the window. I stood up and stretched, tilting my head side to side, cracking my neck and sending shivers down my spine. I grabbed the blankets and folded them up, setting them on the foot of Blake's bed. I looked in the mirror and swore to myself, the shirt had four long slash marks on it. _Crap, I can't go downstairs like this._ Footsteps alerted me to someone coming down the hall, "Yang are you awake?" I sighed in relief at the sound of Blake's voice. "Yeah I'm awake." She stood in the doorway, my clothes neatly folded and sitting in her hands. "Sorry about the shirt." I said, holding it out so she could see the claw marks. "They didn't cut you, did they?!" she asked slightly panicked. "No, they only got the shirt, my aura protected me." I grabbed my clothes from her. "You can go ahead and shower if you want, you were the last one to wake up so it's available." I laughed, "Gee, thanks for letting me sleep in." I walked down to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I got a steady stream of warm water going for my shower. I was covered in even more dirt from my little scuffle last night and the water rolling off me was a muddy brown color. I took extra time to make sure my hair was thoroughly clear of any and all dirt before turning the water off. I examined myself in the mirror, the figure staring back completely different from the one present in the mirror last night, my hair bright and vibrant and even the color in my eyes looked sharper. I toweled off and slipped into my shirt and shorts, the flowery scent of the laundry detergent flowing off my freshly cleaned clothes. I folded the sweatpants and ruined shirt before leaving the bathroom.

I softly walked back to Blake's room, trying to think of a way to apologize for last night. I looked up and she was standing in the doorway, watching me. I handed her clothes back to her, "I… I'm sorry about the shirt." She smiled and took them from me. "Don't worry about, it looks cooler that way." She tucked the clothes into her dresser and grabbed the pillow and blankets I left on her bed. "I want to apologize… for last night. Klyde was right when he said I put you in danger. I wasn't prepared, and you could've gotten hurt because of me." She looked at me, her expression serious. "You don't need to apologize, you asked if I wanted to come along and I chose to. If anything, I put us in danger for not stopping, or for not suggesting that you take your weapon." She tucked the pillows into her closet and grabbed Ember Celica from her dresser, holding them out to me. "Everything turned out okay in the end, so who cares?" I took Ember Celica and slid them on my wrists. "I care, I couldn't handle my emotions and you could've gotten hurt." She suddenly grabbed me and pulled me close, her arms wrapping around me. "Yang, don't get hung up about it. You're fine and I'm fine, everything is okay."

She let me go and I sighed. "I guess you're right." She grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room, "Come on, breakfast should almost be done." I followed her down stairs and into the kitchen, the smell and sizzle of cooking food permeating the air. "Good morning Yang." Laura greeted as we walked into the kitchen. "Good morning." I sat down at the table in the dining room, my stomach growling loudly. "You sound hungry." Cyrus commented, sitting at the table next to me. I smiled, "Yeah a little bit, the food smells great too." Laura laughed from the kitchen, "It's about time someone appreciated my cooking. You're okay with vegetables, right Yang?" She looked back to the dining table and I nodded. "Sure, that's fine." Cyrus pulled out a scroll and started glancing through it. "Your scrolls work?" He snorted, amused at my question, "Hardly, they can get us short communication and news updates, that's all." He dropped the scroll onto the table as plates of food were slid in front of us. "Thanks Laura." I grabbed the fork and bit into the vegetables, not as good as bacon but food is food.

"So… where will you be going?" I looked up from my plate at Blake. I twisted the fork around in my hand, not entirely sure. I'd taken this route because Darwin had told me there were bandits this way, and that meant… Mom. But I also needed to get to Haven and find Ruby. "I guess Haven Academy, that's where my sister was headed." I stabbed a few more vegetables with my fork. "Schools not even in session, why would she be headed there?" I shook my head, "I don't know exactly but, our uncle told her something after the Fall of Beacon. Both left shortly after that." I sighed setting my fork down. "God sometimes… it's just so exhausting. I never feel like I can catch a break." I heard Blake laugh and looked at her. "Sorry," she said in between her giggles, "But that doesn't sound exhausting to me. That sounds exciting, exhausting is sitting around all day in a village that never changes. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, repeat… that's exhausting." I picked up my fork and munched on more of the vegetables, I guess she had a point. "Blake isn't wrong Yang. Even Laura would agree with me when I say that what we do can get exhausting. You're living a life that I'm sure a lot of people would trade their ordinary one for." I set the fork on the empty plate in front of me. "Cyrus is right, a repetitive village life can get exhausting sometimes. Klyde tells us stories all the time of his travels and the monsters he's faced, fantastic tales." I thought about Klyde, how he acted last night, because of me.

Everyone else finished eating and Laura collected all the plates. I glanced at the clock, it was nearly 11:00, I needed to get moving. "Time to go?" Cyrus brushed past me as I stared at the clock. "Yeah, I think so. I still have a lot of ground to cover." He laughed, "Well don't let us hold you up. You've got family to find." I zipped my boots up and shook Cyrus' hand. "Thanks for everything." He nodded and directed me to the kitchen where Laura and Blake were washing dishes. "Laura, Blake, it's about time for me to get going. I wanted to say goodbye." Laura pulled me into a light hug. "It was a pleasure to meet you Yang, if you ever find yourself around again, feel free to stop in." I nodded and turned to Blake, breaking the hug. I pulled her close, giving her a tight warm hug. "Thanks for being my friend when I really needed one." I was kind of sad, this fantastic kind family opened their home to me, but now I had to leave. I stepped back, looking at Blake. A few tears were running down her face, but she was smiling, a genuinely happy smile. "Thank you too Yang, for everything. When you get your team together again come visit, I'd like to meet them." I nodded and grabbed my jacket from the coat rack. "Goodbye, I really appreciate everything that you all have done for me." I opened the door and stepped out on the porch. I noticed Klyde standing next to Bumblebee and I sighed. _Great, here we go._ I walked down the steps and stood, facing Klyde.

"Miss Yang, I… I want to apologize for last night." It took me by surprise, I thought I would be the one apologizing today. "Sometimes I forget what it was like to be your age. I got unnecessarily angry with you when it was myself that I was angry with. I shouldn't have let those Beowolves get anywhere near the village to begin with. I-" I waved a hand in front of me, cutting him off. "No, you were right. I really didn't think last night, and I made a mistake. But it's like Blake was telling me earlier, nobody got hurt so everything turned out okay." I stuck out my hand and he shook it. "I know I've got a long way to go before I can call myself a Huntress, but I guess that's part of the reason I'm on this journey. Take care Klyde, look after Blake for me." I put my gloves on and climbed onto Bumblebee. "You too Miss Yang, take care of yourself." I nodded and started Bumblebee, revving the engine. I gripped the throttle tightly and rode away from the village, back on track towards Haven.

* * *

I had to slow down as the rain started, making the road slick and dangerous. Dark clouds rolled in about an hour ago and the distant sound of thunder told me that the rain wasn't far behind, and sure enough here it is now. The rain pounded down through the trees, drenching me through my clothes. The rain just kept coming down, harder and harder, limiting my field of vision. A large shadow became visible through the rain and as I got closer I realized it was a large tree, the branches reaching out over the road. I slowed down as I got close and pulled off the road, deciding to try and wait the rain out. I rolled Bumblebee up under the tree and stood it up. Water rolled off me in streams, my clothes a couple pounds heavier thanks to the rain. I peeled my jacket, shirt, and shorts off wringing the water from them. I pulled my shorts back on but laid my shirt and jacket out on Bumblebee. I felt weird with just my shorts and bra on, but I doubted anyone else was going to come by any time soon, at least not while the rain is still coming down. I sat at the base of the tree, leaning back against it, listening to the rain and thunder. I grabbed my shirt from Bumblebee, it was still damp, but water wasn't dripping from it anymore. I put it on, the wet cloth sticking to my skin.

A bright flash of lightning ripped across the sky, almost like it was tearing the clouds apart. The loud rumble of thunder followed a second later, a loud boom that reverberated through my body. A cold shiver ran down my spine and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I felt a long cold object press to my throat, and strong rough hands restrain my own. "Don't move and don't scream." I relaxed so the tension in my arms wasn't hurting me. "What do you want, I don't have any money." I felt the object lift from my throat slightly but then the pressure was reapplied. "Just stay quiet, you're coming with us." I laughed, I knew at this point my eyes were a deep burning crimson. "You think so?" I asked them. A heavy, hard object connected with the back of my head, my vision fading, "I know so." Those were the last words I heard before everything went black.

I came to with a splitting headache. I tried to rub my head, but my hands were bound together. I opened my eyes slowly, my vision still blurred, and I had difficulty holding my head straight. _What the…hell?_ My thoughts were scattered and disjointed. As my vision started focusing I looked around. I was in some kind of cage, the bars directly in front of me. There were multiple tents and huts on the other side, a fire in the middle of them. I heard groaning and glanced over to my left, a figure stirring awake. I ignored them and kept looking, two men were sitting on crates nearby, their backs to the cage. I tried pulling on my bindings. They were tight, but I could move my hands a little bit. I heard more groaning and shuffling as I assume the other person woke up. "What- what happened?" I froze. _That voice, it can't be._ I turned on the figure the flickering light from the fire illuminating a girl. She was wearing a sparkling blue dress that ended in a skirt. Her hair, pure white, done up in a long, fancy, ponytail. The girl looked around, confused. "Weiss?" The girl paused and focused on me. "Yang?"


	12. Family Conflict

**Spoiler Alert! The following chapter has some character information that is not revealed until Volume 5 Episode 4 _Lighting the Fire_. If you are okay with this read ahead, if not then I recommend you wait until the public release of episode 4 before reading. I have warned you in advance so if you read ahead and get upset you can only blame yourself. Anyway enjoy.**

"Weiss what are you doing here?" I sat across from her on the dirt. She was still a little out of it, taking long to respond. "I… was on my way… to Mistral. I was on an airship and… we were attacked… by a group of Lancers. The ship crashed… and I blacked out. When I came too there were these people… standing over me. Two men and a woman… the woman looked… like you." My blood froze, a cold chill taking over my body. "Mom." Weiss looked at me confused. "What?" I sighed, "That woman you saw, the one that looked like me. Did she have long black hair, possibly carrying a long katana?" Weiss nodded, confirming my guess. "Her name's Raven, she's… my biological mom." I stood up and walked over to the bars, kicking one hard to get the attention of the two sitting on the crates. "Hey, why the hell did you bring me here?" They looked back, one of them jumping off a crate and walking over. "Ha, you're finally awake blondey," he looked past me at the sitting form of Weiss, "oh and the Schnee is awake too, would you look at that." His buddy on the crate laughed, pissing me off. "You didn't answer my question, why did you bring me here?" He rolled his eyes, "Look girly, I don't make the orders, I just follow them. The girl behind you? She's getting ransomed off back to her daddy. You? I don't know, the leader said to put you in with her for now. Either way, it doesn't matter, we'll find a use for you eventually." He was standing right on the other side of the bars now, laughing right in my face. I shot my hands through the bars and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. I pulled hard, slamming his face into the metal bars.

He fell to the ground clutching his face. "Agh, you bitch, that hurt." His buddy got up and started walking over. "Stop, both of you." A girl emerged from one of the nearby tents, holding Myrtenaster. I noticed a glint of yellow on her wrists, Ember Celica reflecting the light of the fire. "Who are you?" Weiss asked, taking a place next to me. "What does it matter? Soon enough you'll be shipped back to your dad." Weiss scoffed, her reply calm and collected. "Please, you know who I am right? That means you know who my sister is, Winter Schnee, an Atlas Specialist. She's waiting for me in Mistral, when I don't show up, she'll come looking for me, and she will find me. It's only a matter of time." The guy who I slammed into the bars laughed. The girl smiled at Weiss, "Oh you haven't heard? Ironwood called back all military personnel, your sister isn't in Mistral anymore, she's not waiting for you, and she'll never know you didn't make it." She turned and started walking back to the tent she came from. "Hey," she stopped and looked back, "where's Raven?" The girl smiled and walked into the tent. I sighed and sat down my back facing the men still outside. Weiss sat next to me, "We're breaking out, right?" Weiss asked, smiling. "Yeah, we're breaking out."

The fire had died down and the two men who were supposed to be watching us were passed out drunk on the ground. Weiss held her hands together and glyph appeared in her palms, spinning faster and faster until a little white knight appeared in her hands. She looked over at me and nodded. The knight sliced through her bindings with its sword. I yanked my hands down and apart, the rope snapping loudly and falling to the ground, frayed and useless. I glanced at Weiss and nodded. We stood up and walked up to the bars of the cage. I grabbed one of them with my right hand and yanked, the bar budging slightly. I yanked again, and the bar bent in towards us. Another yank and the bar dislodged from the rest of the cage. I grabbed another and yanked until "What's the likelihood that our stuff is still in that tent?" I asked, pointing to the tent the girl came from earlier. Weiss shrugged, "It's worth a shot." We stayed low and in the shadows as we made our way over to the tent. I kept watch while Weiss took a peek into the tent. "Keep watch, I'll be right back." I nodded and crouched down at the side of the tent. There wasn't much noise coming from the camp, the occasional pop and crackle from the dying fire.

A quiet shuffle of cloth drew my attention to Weiss emerging from the tent, Myrtenaster and Ember Celica in her arms. "Ok, now let's go have a chat with my mom." I took Ember Celica from her, looking around to see if anybody had shown up. We walked over to where our guards were passed out. I kicked one in the stomach, he lurched over and got on his hands and knees, puking. I picked him up off the ground and brought him up to eye level, "Take us to Raven." I threw him back on the ground. He scrambled to his feet and pulled a pistol from his belt, I activated Ember Celica, "Are we really gonna play this game?" He pulled the trigger and I felt the bullet whiz past me, he was stumbling, a clear indication that he was still drunk. "Would you like this one Weiss?" She smirked and stepped forward, plunging Myrtenaster into the ground, a large glyph forming in front of her. "Gladly." A larger version of the white knight from earlier rose from the glyph, its large sword in hand. The knight looked back at Weiss and she nodded, the knight stepping forward and picking both men up and lifting them in the air. The knight bashed them together and dropped them to the ground. More bandits started gathering as the sound of fighting picked up. We let the knight handle the fighting as Weiss and I walked to the large tent at the end of the camp.

"Enough!" A large bolt of lightning struck down right in front of us, charring the ground and sending dirt flying. The girl from earlier was walking towards us. She held her hand up facing us, a strong wind forming, "Vernal! That's enough, and you, Schnee, call of your knight or we'll have Grimm swarming this place in no time." Raven exited her tent and stood visible to everyone. Weiss glanced over at me and I nodded, the knight starting to dissipate. I grabbed Weiss' hand and started leading her over to Mom. The girl named Vernal stepped in front of us, her eyes full of anger, "Let them pass." She scowled and stepped aside, letting us through. I stopped us a few feet from her tent, where she stood with a blank expression on her face. "Mom." I greeted with little emotion. The bandits started gathering around us. "Yang. You've made a mess of my camp." I motioned to myself and Weiss, "Your goons kidnapped us." Grumbles from the bandits noted their disapproval of being called goons. "You could've escaped, both of you, so why didn't you?" I folded my arms, "You should know why. I'm trying to find my sister, and you can get me to her, can't you?" Vernal strode over to Raven and knelt at her side. "No, I can't take you to your sister." I smiled, I had her. "No, you can't take us to Ruby, but you can take us to Qrow."

Her blank expression turned to a slight frown. "Dad told me how your semblance works. You form a bond with people and then you can create portals to them. You have three that I know of; One for Dad, one for me, and one for Qrow. Before he left he said he was going to be with and keep an eye on Ruby. I trust him, so I know he's with her." The flickering light of the fires cast shadows on the tent and distant howls filled the air. "Your father sure doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Yes, I can open a portal for you to Qrow, but why would I?" I feigned a smile and shaped my hands into a heart over my chest, "Because we're family." She smirked at my response. "Funny, last time we spoke you had no interest in being family. Qrow is a fool who put his faith in the wrong man, and now he's dragged your sister and her friends into the same mess. There are far more bigger matters in this world than either of you are aware." Weiss stepped forward, her posture stiff and angry. "Oh, so instead of trying to help you'd rather just sit and cower in this little camp of yours? How brave. My partner is out there trying to save the world, a world you live in too." I placed my hand on her shoulder and faced Raven, "You said I needed to be prepared for the world to be engulfed in flames, you never told me why though. If you're so sure Qrow will fail, then how about you tell me why? Also, I'd like my bike back, preferably sent home because I'm sure after this I won't be needing it anymore." A scowl was present on Vernal's face, but Raven let out a short laugh, surprising me. "You've got a lot of nerve coming in here and making those kinds of requests." I stared right back at her and smiled. "No duh, I get it from my mother."

A silence fell over the area. "If that's how you feel then there's nothing to talk about." She turned away and grabbed at the fold of her tent. "Well then we'll just make quick work of your goons and have a talk by force, that is, if the Grimm don't show up first." I activated Ember Celica and Weiss summoned her knight back, causing a few of the bandits to step back. "Both of you, in my tent now! If you're going to join Qrow on his fool's errand, then you need to know the whole story. Vernal, have someone bring my daughter's bike. The rest of you, get back to work!" The bandits broke off as Raven entered her tent. I turned to face Weiss and was surprised when she threw herself at me. "I missed you, so, so much." I wrapped my arms around her, returning the hug. "I missed you too."

"Sit." Weiss and I both sat on the floor across from Raven. "Listen carefully, I will not repeat myself." We nodded, and she began. "Are either of you familiar with _The Story of the Seasons_?" Weiss and I both shook our heads. "What about _The Four Maidens_?" I shook my head, but Weiss nodded. "What do you know of the story?" Weiss cleared her throat, "Well the story starts off with an old man who lives alone. One day he's visited by a woman named Winter who encourages him to meditate and reflect on his life and choices. Later he's visited by Spring, who brings him fruit and flowers and brings life to his garden. Another visitor, Summer, convinces him to step outside and embrace the world around him and its beauty. The last visitor, Fall, encourages him to be thankful for all he has been given in life. The old man asks these visitors, who are actually sisters, why they were so kind to him, a bitter old man. The sisters reply that they show kindness to everyone who they meet. The old man, who is revealed to be a wizard, bestows upon the sisters a great power. As they embody the seasons the sisters travel across Remnant spreading their gifts and kindness to all while promising to visit the old man once a year."

Raven nodded at Weiss' retelling. "The story goes by many names and has many different versions, but in each one there are points that remain the same; the old man, the four sisters, and the powers the old man gifts to the sisters." I sighed, "So, what does a fairy tale have to do with anything?" Raven rolled her eyes, "I'm getting to that, just be quiet and be patient. All the different retellings have those four characteristics in common with each other. This story, it's not just a fairy tale. The old man and the four sisters are real people and lived long ago. The old man really was a wizard and bestowed extraordinary powers upon the four sisters who became known as The Four Maidens; powerful women who each embodied one of the four seasons. The truth was covered up by a fairy tale to protect the maidens and the old man. But that's not the end of it. When the Maidens died their power and soul didn't, they sought out new hosts and bonded with them, continuing the cycle of the Maidens. When one dies their power will seek out a new host and bond with them, over and over again. A part not in the stories however is the relics, items that hold a great power. To protect these relics, vaults were built around them and then the four Huntsmen Academies were built around these vaults so that the relics would always be protected. That's why Beacon was attacked, the group who's really pulling the strings acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden and are now probably searching for the relic that Beacon houses." I held up my hand to stop her, "What does that have to do with Ozpin? You keep saying Qrow was a fool for trusting Ozpin and you seem to be putting a lot of blame on him." Raven laughed, "Qrow is a fool. What do either of you actually know about Ozpin? He thought it better to hide and wait for something to happen rather than going and eliminating the problem from the start, and because of his arrogance Beacon has fallen, and soon the other academies will fall as well."

I looked at Weiss, who also glanced over to look at me, a shared look of confusion between us. "My brother has been running missions for Ozpin for the last number of years, gathering information and trying to locate the Maidens to keep them safe. Now though, Ozpin is gone and one of the Maiden's powers now lies with the enemy, and my brother still thinks he and a group of kids can save the world." I stood up, stretching my legs out. "That sounds incredibly unbelievable, but I also know that you have no reason to lie to me, so I appreciate the honesty. But if the world really is going to go up in flames, I'd rather be there, fighting the fire, then waiting for it to burn its way towards me." I looked at her a twang of sadness resonating in me. "I'm sorry we can't see eye to eye on this, and I'm sure it's not helping our relationship any, but please, we need your help. Can you please get us to Qrow? You have to do what you have to do, but so do I." I looked at her, I hid my pleading and desperation because I knew it wouldn't work on her. "I helped you once, because as Qrow likes to put it, 'it's my rule'. A favor like this, I can't just grant without getting anything in return. I'm in charge around here for a reason, if I just let you both-" "I'll stay." I turned my head so fast I almost lost balance. Weiss was now standing as well, her hands held together in front of her. "If you help Yang get to Ruby, I'll stay here, and you can ransom me back to Atlas. I won't fight back, I won't try to escape, just don't put me back in a cage and I'll do whatever you say." I stared dumbfounded, "Weiss you can't be-" "Quiet Yang. The Schnee girl has made her decision." Raven walked right up to Weiss, making me fight the urge to step between them. "You are willing to give up, this far into your journey, to help my daughter?" Weiss looked my mom right in the eye and nodded. Raven turned and waved her hand, a large crimson portal opening in the tent. "Both of you go through the portal, it'll take you right to Qrow. This is the second time I've helped you, don't take my generosity for granted. You'll both hear from me again in time. I will make sure your bike is returned to your father. Now go through before I change my mind." Weiss and I walked to the portal, the swirling red tear in reality that will get us to Ruby. I turned back to see Mom facing away from us, "Thanks… Mom" I grabbed Weiss and pulled her with me into the portal.

I stumbled out of the portal, falling flat on my back. I felt a foot kick mine and a sudden weight collapse onto me. "Ow, get off." Wherever we were being completely dark, I felt around but all I could feel was the floor beneath me. "I can't see anything, hang on." I felt a hand on my breast, "Hey hands off!" I shouted swatting randomly. I knocked the hand away, Weiss falling back down on me. "Ow, what the heck I was trying to get up!" Her voice sounded irritated. "Well do it without getting all handsy with my boobs." I grabbed Weiss with an audible "Eek" and lightly shoved her off me. "Why is it so dark in here, and where's your uncle, didn't your mom say the portal would lead to him?" I sighed, "The portal worked fine, I just don't-" A loud banging somewhere off to my right stopped me mid-sentence. "Qrow I swear if you are drunk again I'm gonna-" The lights came on and Ruby was standing in the corner of the room in her pajamas, mouth wide open. Another loud bang rang out as Qrow stumbled into the room, "Can't a guy sleep off a night of booze in peace?" He stopped and looked at Ruby in the corner and Weiss and me on the floor. "Oh, who invited you two?" He laughed and dropped to his knees before falling on his face, blackout drunk. "Ruby what is going on out here?" Jaune, Nora, Ren, and a smaller kid I didn't recognize appeared behind Ruby. They looked at us and then at Qrow passed out on the ground. Ruby sighed and covered her face with her hand. "Just… I don't… ugh let's just go to sleep and deal with it in the morning." I got off the ground and picked Weiss up, running over to Ruby and throwing my arms around her, squeezing her tight. "I missed you Rubes" A smaller pair of arms wrapped around both us. "Quit hogging her Yang, I missed her too." Ruby laughed in the middle of us. "I missed you guys."


	13. Catching Up

**I know it's been a while since I have posted a chapter but I've been busy with school and finals are only a week away so I didn't have the spare time to write. After Finals I should be able to update and post more frequently. Enjoy!**

"So, who wants to wake Qrow up?" Ruby asked. We all stood around Qrow's passed out form on the ground. When we woke up this morning and entered the living room, Qrow was still passed out on the floor, exactly where he went down last night. I nudged his side with my foot, "Qrow." He didn't move, didn't even grumble. I nudged him harder, moving him a bit, "Qrow." I spoke louder, getting irritated. No movement, I kicked him in the side with a little force, "Qrow get your drunk ass up!" He groaned and shifted his hands, pushing himself up off the floor. "Ruby, come on your uncle had a rough night. And I'm not a drunk, I'm just really good friends with alcohol." He pushed himself into a sitting position, slouching against the wall. "Ruby, didn't kick and yell at you, and I didn't call you a drunk, I called you drunk." He lifted his head and stupidly looked at the seven us standing around him. "Yang? Little Ice Queen? I'm still drunk, aren't I?" I sighed, "Yes, you're still drunk, but Weiss and I are very real." He glanced at Ruby, "Ruby, is she lying to me?" I knelt down to his level and tapped my knuckle on his forehead. "Am I real enough for you?" He held up his hand, backing me away. "Yeah, but come on, I already told you I had a rough night." I sighed and stepped away from the rest of the group,

"Mr. Qrow, I have some questions." I sat on the couch and kicked my legs up on the coffee table. Weiss was kneeling in front of Qrow, the rose print pajamas she borrowed clashing with her white hair. "Yang's mom told us some things, and I wanted know if they were true." The room got quiet and Qrow stood up, staring past Weiss and at me. "What did Raven tell you Yang?" I looked back at him, the entire group staring at me. "Four Maidens, world in flames, Ozpin's a fool. That pretty much sums it up." Qrow stumbled away from the wall and sat down in the chair near the couch. "Is that how you got here? Did Raven help you get here?" I nodded. "I want to know everything she told you. But first, there's something that you and Little Ice Queen need to know too. Oscar," He motioned to the kid I didn't know, "enlighten the ladies please." Oscar tapped Weiss on the shoulder, "Uh, can you please sit next to Yang… please." He seemed timid and uncertain. Weiss sat next to me on the couch and Oscar stood in the center of the room. "Don't like, freak out or anything, and I'm still going to… be present too." Oscar closed his eyes for a few seconds and a green glow washed over his body. When he opened his eyes, they glowed momentarily before switching to a darker brown. "Miss Xiao Long, Miss Schnee, it's good to see you both." The voice that came from Oscar wasn't the timid one from before but sounded incredibly like- "Professor Ozpin?" Weiss asked. Oscar nodded. "Yes, it's me. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I can't maintain control for long. My soul has bonded to Oscar and we can share control of his body. The rest of your friends and family can fill you in later, but I am very interested myself in what Raven has told the both of you." He closed his eyes and glowed green again. Oscar opened his eyes and slouched a bit, "Ugh I don't think I'll ever get use to that." I sat forward on the couch. "Wait what happened to Ozpin?" Oscar sat on the floor, "He's still here, just like I am when he is in control, he's just… in my head."

"Like Ozpin told you both, we can fill you in later. But whatever my sister told you might actually have some importance to what we're doing here. You mentioned the Four Maidens but I'm sure she didn't tell you that one of them is with her. So whatever Raven told you, we need to hear it." Ruby and the rest of Team JNPR gathered around me and Weiss. "She told us that the old fairy tale, _The Four Maidens_ , is actually a true story. She told us that whoever was behind the attack on Beacon had acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden and are now searching for a Relic that's sealed in a vault beneath the school." Weiss took over from there. I chose to leave out when Mom had turned into a raven and Weiss must've caught on because she didn't mention it either. "Raven told us that soon enough the other three kingdoms will fall also. She put a lot of blame on Ozpin for not getting rid of the problem to begin with. She didn't seem to have too high of an opinion of you either Qrow. She called you a fool and said she believes you put your trust in the wrong man. You're right though, she never made mention of a Maiden being in her camp." Qrow leaned back in the chair and sighed, "Nothing we didn't already know, but did you see anyone out of the ordinary? More specifically a girl, maybe around your age, strange powers?" I thought back to Vernal, the girl who I assume was the one who almost struck me and Weiss with lightning. "Yeah, there was a girl maybe around our age, almost shaved head, tattoos, and possibly controls the weather. Weiss and I almost got struck by lightning and I'm pretty sure it was her." Weiss nodded, "Yes, Raven addressed her as Vernal. She was incredibly confident and loyal to Raven." The others looked at Qrow. He stood up and walked to the front door. "This complicates things a little bit. I'm headed into the city, gonna snoop around a bit, in the meantime, Oscar and Ozpin are gonna put you two into training with the others. I'll be back later. Don't open the door for anyone." He closed the door and left the seven of us in the house.

"While I don't mind training, I would like to eat first." I nodded, "I'm with Weiss, I don't know the last time you all ate, but we were trapped in my mom's bandit camp with no food." My stomach growled loudly, everyone turning to look at me. "What? I'm hungry." Ruby burst out laughing. "I'll go to the kitchen and start making breakfast for everyone." "And I'll help." Ren and Nora left, leaving Weiss, Ruby, Jaune, Oscar, and myself in the living room. "So, I think it's time you fill us in." "Yes, we are going to be working together so we need to know exactly what's going on." Weiss added. "Well," Ruby started, "stay sitting, it might be a bit of a long story. I guess I'll start when we were attacked. This scorpion Faunus Tyrian attacked us when we were traveling. He was after me, wanting to take me to his master Salem, who Qrow and Ozpin told us is the one who is trying to get the relics. That's when Qrow showed up and saved us. He fought against Tyrian until I got in the way and Tyrian hurt Qrow. I cut off his tail and he retreated. Later that night Qrow told us everything. He told us why they attacked Beacon, because they were looking for the relic and trying to make a statement. He also told us the story, which I guess is true, about two brothers who were basically gods. The older brother brought life, while the younger brother brought destruction. The younger brother created the Grimm so they could destroy everything. The older brother then proposed that instead of creating things by themselves they work together to create one last thing. The younger brother agreed and the made their creation which is us; humanity. Qrow got sick so we kept moving, hoping to get to Mistral soon. We got trapped in a village called Kuroyuri by a giant Grimm. We defeated it and luckily some pilots from Mistral saw us and brought us here. After Qrow got better we went to Haven to meet with the headmaster. Ozpin later informed us that from how our meeting went something is not right with Lionheart so Qrow has been trying to get as much information as possible. While he has been doing that we've been training with Oscar and Ozpin, and then you both got here." Ruby stopped talking, giving me time to absorb everything.

"Then what are we training for? I mean I understand training is important, but the atmosphere seems a little rushed to just be sitting around and training." Ruby looked at Jaune and Oscar then back at us. "We think they're going to attack Haven soon. If the relics are what they're after, then they'll need to take over the school. So, we're training to stop them. Qrow has also been contacting people he's met on his journeys, we're trying to build up a defense force. We can't let what happened to Beacon happen here too." I thought it over, she wasn't wrong. "And if Qrow can't get any help, what then? We're a bunch of kids, we can't protect an entire school by ourselves." I got off the couch and started pacing. "Yang, do you trust Uncle Qrow?" "Of course I do, what kind of question is that?" I locked eyes with Ruby, her silver eyes staring into mine. "Then we'll continue to train and he'll take care of the rest. We won't let Haven fall." I rolled my eyes, "When did you grow up and become so confident?" She smiled at me cockily, "Unlike you I didn't sit around for months being depressed and not doing anything." I raised an eyebrow at her, "Is that right? Well then show me how much you've grown. You're sparring with me after breakfast." The smile vanished from her face and I laughed. "Oh yeah, this'll be fun."

We sat around the table, eating, talking, and laughing with each other. It was almost like we were back at Beacon again during our first semester. "And so Ruby shot this thing's tree arm and now it's on fire! It's swinging a burning tree at us and I didn't even have my sword and shield, so I'm just running around trying not to get crushed or burned." I laughed at the image of Jaune flailing and running around. "That's nothing, I was at a charity gala, and almost had a Boarbatusk gore a woman because she was saying it was Beacon's and Ozpin's fault we got attacked." Nora looked questioningly at Weiss. "There's no way that actually happened." A white Boarbatusk appeared next to Nora and snorted, scaring her. Even Ren laughed at that as Nora fell over. "That's not funny." "Come on Nora, it's a little funny." I said, still laughing. "So Yang," I turned to Ren so he knew I was listening. "What have you done since we last saw you?" All eyes turned to me, "Well I guess I've done a lot, but not a lot too. After you all left, things really just stayed stagnant. I don't think I even left the house for two months. I had some breakdowns, cried a bit…" It felt weird, actually talking to people about this. I hardly even talked to dad about it before I left. "But things got better. I still have the occasional nightmare, but I left to find Ruby. Hopped on a boat, rode it to Animus, and traveled for a few weeks. I met some friendly people, fought a couple Grimm, saved a few people… and dealt with some personal issues," I glanced down at my right hand and, flexing my fingers. "This arm being one of them. I was… afraid to use it for the longest time, but now it's just another part of me. A little stronger than the old one. Dad said Ironwood had it made for me."

"Wanna put it to the test?" I looked over at Nora who had her arm resting and ready for an arm wrestle. "Nora, I'm sure Yang does not want-" I cut Ren off. "Bring it!" I sat across from her and gripped her hand tightly. Jaune put his hand on top of ours, "When I let go, have at it." I stared down Nora, both of us smiling. He lifted his hand and I felt the force of Nora immediately. "You weren't kidding, it is a little stronger, but not strong enough." Neither of our arms budged as we fought with each other. "You know Nora, my arms got a few other tricks too." "What?" I shot my arm off and it launched Nora backwards into the wall. I laughed at the stunned look on her face as she was still gripping tightly to my arm. "Now that one is definitely hilarious!" She threw my arm back to me and smiled. "Okay yeah, that one was funny." Oscar was looking at all of us with a stunned expression on his face. "Hey," I directed to him, "ask Ozpin, this is pretty normal for us. Ask him about the food fight." Ruby squealed, "Oh my god I almost forgot about that. We demolished over half the cafeteria during that one." She looked over at Jaune, Ren, and Nora. "And we totally kicked your guys' butts." Nora grabbed a bowl from the table and smiled. "Yeah but we'll win round two!" She swung her arm forward, but Ren snatched the bowl before she could lob it. "This is neither the time nor the place for that Nora. This house can't take it." She dropped her arms to her sides and sighed. "But Ren." He shook his head and set the bowl back down on the table. "I suggest we finish breakfast, training cannot be put off forever."

The early morning sky was a swirl of orange, yellow, and blue. A large backyard overlooked the city down below and the trees bordering the fenced in area were full of chirping birds. "Come on Ruby, you're up. I tried teaching you hand-to-hand combat before, let's see if you've learned anything." I stretched out, pulling my arms across my chest and then reaching for my toes. "But Yang I-" I gave her a look and she stopped complaining and walked out over to me. "Come on, think of this more like a sparring match than training. Try to beat me." We stood facing each other, each of us waiting for the other to make the first move. I swung with my right aiming for her chest. She stepped to the side letting my fist harmlessly pass. I planted my left foot and spun backwards, my right leg catching both of Ruby's. She fell to the ground with a thud. I took a few steps back and let her get up. "You can't win just by dodging Rubes." She dusted her cloak off and huffed. "I know Yang." I waited for her to finish, and went back at her. I swung again, forcing Ruby back a step. She waited until my arm was fully extended and swung at me, her fist hitting my chest. She pulled her hand back and shook it up and down. "Ow, ow, owwwwwww!" I grabbed her arm and kicked her legs out from under her again. _We have a long way to go._ I thought as Ruby stood back up. I sighed as we stared each other down before starting again.


	14. Before the Storm

Ruby was on her back laying in the dirt, breathing ragged and heavy. I was bent over, trying to catch my breath, I was covered in scrapes, bruises, and dirt. My left hand was still shaking uncontrollably. I got caught up in the adrenaline rush of the training and instead of Ruby I saw _him_. When the adrenaline rush was gone Ruby was laying on the ground and Weiss and the others were staring at me, a look of shock on their face. "I…" I turned and ran into the house, slamming the door behind me. I ran to our room and locked the door behind me, falling to the ground in tears. I hurt Ruby, the one person I had promised to protect. I was so frustrated with myself I just yelled into the emptiness of the room. I laid on the floor crying, drowning in a sea of self-loathing. I thought I had moved on from this, but the minute something good happened it's ruined… by me. There was a light knock on the door, followed by the wiggle of the doorknob, as whoever it was tried to come in. "Yang?" Weiss' soft voice traveled through the wall. I didn't answer and continued to let the quiet tears roll down my face. "Yang, open the door. Just talk to me, please." I sat up and wiped the tears from my eyes. I reached for the door and unlocked it with a light click. Weiss slowly pushed the door open and came inside, closing it behind her.

"Yang, what's wrong? You looked terrified out there. What happened?" She sat on the floor across from me, her light-blue eyes, so full of concern, locking on mine. "Everything is wrong Weiss. None of this is okay!" I said motioning to everything around us. " _I'm_ not okay! I might _never_ be okay! I'm scared of what might happen to everyone. I thought I was fine, I stopped having nightmares, I stopped seeing _him_. But when we were training, it wasn't Ruby I saw, it was him… Adam… And Blake's not here, she's not here with us. She ran when we needed her, when _I_ needed her. I thought she finally trusted us. But she's gone, and she may never come back!" I couldn't contain it anymore and all my feelings just flowed out. "What am I supposed to do when somebody I love just leaves me!" I looked at Weiss realizing what I had just shouted, but the look on her face was one of understanding. "The same thing I did when I was forced to leave somebody I love. You do what it takes to get back to them, even if that means leaving your home and family, not that I had much of one back home. You, Ruby, Blake, you guys are more of a family to me than my real family, except for maybe Winter. But I didn't give up, I kept moving forward so I could get back to the person I love. And I made it, so you can too. We're not the closest members of Team RWBY, but I'm always here for you, for Ruby, and when Blake comes back I'll be there for her too. And so will you, no matter how upset you are with her right now. I'm sure she needs you as much as you need her. We're all scared, but we don't have to be scared alone." Another light knock on the door caught both of our attention. "Speaking of people I love." Weiss, mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear, and maybe I shouldn't have.

Ruby slowly pushed the door open, the left side of her face slightly bruised. She sat down in my lap and hugged me, not saying anything, the sudden action causing more tears to form in my eyes. I hugged her back, "I'm so sorry Ruby." She pulled away, and looked at me, her silver eyes full of tears. "It's okay Yang, I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose. You can talk to us about anything, we're a team." I wiped the tears away, my face becoming numb. "I know, but it's not always easy." Ruby and Weiss got up and helped me to my feet. "The others probably think I'm crazy." I said as we walked down the hallway. "I told them not to freak out and proved that I was okay. They probably think you just got a little… too into it." I scoffed, "Yeah sure, I got so into it I full on punched you in the face, yeah I'm sure that's what they think." I sat down on the couch while Ruby and Weiss went back outside. "Aren't you going to come out?" I shook my head, "Not right now. I'm just going to hang out in here for a bit." They nodded and closed the door. I sat on the couch in silence, collecting my thoughts. I had just admitted to Weiss that I loved Blake, and she admitted she loved Ruby… I think. But she was right, I am upset with Blake. I still couldn't understand how she could just leave us. I noticed my hand was still shaking slightly and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

I got up and looked out the window. Oscar, or Ozpin, was training with Jaune, their cane deflecting many of Jaune's sword strikes. I watched as they went back and forth, each of them showing a surprising amount of skill. I stepped away from the window and reached for the backdoor, taking a deep breath before stepping outside. I walked over to Ruby and stood next to her, watching Jaune and Oscar. They traded strikes until Jaune knocked the cane away and they stopped. "Heh, you got me." Oscar picked the cane up and retracted it. "Well, I had a good coach." Jaune collapsed his shield and sheathed his sword. "Uh, Yang?" I glanced at Oscar who was tightly gripping his cane. "Yeah?" He swallowed nervously, "Ozpin is asking to speak with you… alone, if that's okay?" I nodded. "We'll go into the house so the rest of you can still train." I followed Oscar inside and closed the door. He sat down in the large chair as the familiar little glow washed over him. When he spoke this time, it was Ozpin.

"Thank you, Miss Xiao-Long. I along with the others am more than curious to know what happened during your little bout with Miss Rose." I took a seat and nervously swallowed. "I'm still… broken, if that makes sense, sir. I can't shake Adam from my head, and I keep seeing him even if he's not there." Ozpin nodded. "I see, I understand that it must've been hard for you, losing a part of yourself, but I, along with the others, need you to stay strong. From what Qrow has reported, many of the Huntsmen and Huntresses have disappeared so it is very likely that we are all that will stand to defend Haven. From what happened at Beacon I can only assume that the White Fang will make an appearance here as well. I need you to promise me that you will not engage Adam Taurus. It's not that I don't believe you capable of engaging him, but I don't want you going into a fight filled with rage. I've lost many a good colleague and friends because they let their emotions get the better of them." I nodded. "I need to hear you say it, Miss Xiao-Long." I swallowed, "I won't engage Adam Taurus." He smiled at me. "Thank you for understanding. And don't worry about Miss Belladonna, I'm sure she will make it back to Team RWBY in time." He stood up and made his way to the door. "Sir?" He turned, "Yes?" I glanced out the at the others. "Can we really do this? I mean not counting Qrow or you, there are seven of us, seven kids. I'll fight, but I can't help but ear that we're not going to be able to make a difference." He sighed and turned back to me. "I fear the same, but we must hold on to hope. Alone none of you students can make a difference, but when you are working together I've seen you all accomplish incredible feats. It's okay to feel fear, Miss Xiao-Long, just don't let it take over." I nodded, and Oscar took back control. "Ugh, I hate that so much."

"Hey Oscar, are you okay with all of this?" He glanced at me confused. "I mean, you had all of this thrust into your lap. You didn't have a choice on whether you wanted to be a part of this or not." He sighed, "You're right, and you're also wrong. I chose to listen to Ozpin and leave home for Haven. I always wanted more out of life than just being a farmhand, but this isn't really what I expected. And to be honest, I'm scared. I haven't known everyone for very long, you and Weiss I've known less than a day. But even though everyone is still just getting to know me and I'm just getting to know them, I don't want to lose anyone. Your sister is actually the one who made me understand. She's scared too, but she told me she's fighting because you've already lost two friends, and she doesn't want to lose anymore. I made a choice and I'm going to stand by it." I was almost amazed at his resolve. I don't know what I would've done had I been in his position. "What about you? You had the choice, you could've just stayed home." I thought about it. "All my life people have left me. My mom, Ruby's mom, my partner, and then even Ruby too. I was tired of getting left behind and I couldn't just let the people I love leave me again. I found Ruby and Weiss, and once we find Blake I'm never letting any of them leave me behind again. I guess I chose to leave home because the people I need in my life also need me."

A loud caw caught my attention as a large crow flew into the living room and flopped down on the couch. A second later and the crow was gone but Qrow was sprawled out on the couch. I stared in shock as he sat up on the couch and ran his hands through his hair. "Ugh?" He looked up and noticed me and Oscar near the door. "Damn. I forgot that you and Little Ice Queen didn't know." I stared at Qrow and then at Oscar. "Actually, we did. Ozpin, I need to know, why'd you do it?" I turned back to Oscar, but it wasn't Oscar's eyes I was staring into. He stepped away from the door and walked over to Qrow. "What exactly did your mother tell you I did?" I swallowed, not taking my eyes off of him. "She said that you cursed her and Qrow." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I should've assumed as much. While your mother may see it as a curse, when I gave these powers to your mother and uncle they were both more than willing to accept them." Qrow nodded, "He's right, Raven and I both made the decision to accept the powers that Ozpin had offered us. Your mother isn't one to lie often, but she will manipulate the truth." Ozpin coughed, stopping Qrow. "It's never my intention to lie to any of you. But like most people I have made choices that I can't undo, and have some things that I wish to keep close to myself. I'm sorry if you feel that I've hidden something from you, but ever since this has started I've never withheld necessary knowledge from any of you."

"I believe you, really I do. But please, no more secrets… from either of you. If Ruby gets hurt because of something you didn't tell us, I'll never forgive either of you." Ozpin nodded, "You made a promise to me, and now I make a promise to you." Qrow gave me a wry smile. "Sorry kiddo, but bedroom secrets have to remain secrets." I fake gagged. "My god you are such an old perv." "Hey, I'm not _old!_ " Oscar sat down, exhausted, as he took control back. "I never want to hear that again in my life. Qrow grabbed his shoulders and shook him a little. "Oh lighten up kid, my girls have been hearing that from me for as long as they can remember. Look at Yang and Ruby, they turned out fine." I rolled my eyes, "Whatever perv. I'm serious though, no more secrets." Qrow nodded. "Thank you."

"Yang, how bout you go back outside and get the others, I need to speak with Oz for a minute." I nodded and went back outside. Weiss was working with Ruby on her combat reflexes. "No, no, no, come on Ruby. You need to sharpen your movements and make them more fluid. You're taking too much time between movements and leaving openings for your enemy to strike." Ruby frowned, "No I'm not." I watched as Weiss conjured a glyph and launched forward at Ruby, stopping just short of tackling her and tapping her on the head lightly. "Yes, you are." I laughed as Ruby sat on the ground and pouted. "Way to go Weiss. See Ruby, even Ice Queen can beat you." She groaned and sprawled out on the ground. "That's not fair Yang, she just got lucky." Weiss flipped her ponytail back and turned her head away from Ruby. "Luck has nothing to do with it Ruby, it's all practice and skill." She helped Ruby to her feet, "That's why I said you need to be more fluid in your actions. We'll be up against people with more skill then all of us, I don't want you getting hurt." Ruby stared at Weiss with loving eyes, "Aw you really do care about me… Ow!" We all laughed as Weiss smacked Ruby on the head. "All funniness aside," I spoke over the laughter, "Qrow and Ozpin asked me to come get everyone."

"What do they want?" Nora asked. I shrugged, "Didn't say, just asked me to get everyone." Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose and latched it to her back. "Do you think Lionheart got through to the council?" Jaune asked. "If so that is very strange. He seemed very against the whole idea when we visited him." Ren replied. "I don't know, maybe he talked them into it." Ruby added. "Well we won't figure it out if just stand around out here. Let's go inside." Weiss strode away from the group and opened the door, looking back at us. "Well?" Jaune, Ren, and Nora followed Weiss, but I grabbed Ruby when she tried to go. "Just give us a minute, I want to talk to Ruby." I waited until the others went inside, leaving just me and Ruby outside.

"Is something wrong Yang?" I shook my head, "No nothing's wrong… I mean something is kind of wrong, but it isn't that big of a deal." I looked into her curious silver eyes. "How do you feel about Weiss?" Ruby's cheeks tinged a slight shade of pink. "I mean she's cool and everything. I know she may seem cold and mean, but I know that's not who she really is. I've seen her around her sister, so I know she can be nice and bubbly just like me. She's pretty and smart and she sings well and she's amazing at fighting." I smiled as Ruby rambled on. "She's part of our family now Yang. I love her… just like I love all of Team RWBY" She added that last part very quickly and hid her face as she blushed really hard. I laughed and she looked at me in adorable anger. "Don't laugh at me!" I couldn't help it and grabbed Ruby, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Just listen to Weiss when she's trying to help. She really does care and doesn't want you getting hurt. I'm sure she loves you too." I let Ruby go and ruffled her hair. "Let's go inside, everyone is waiting on us."

Everyone was sitting in the living room waiting on us. "Okay now that we're all here, I'll tell you all what I told Oz. Leo contacted me and told me he's made a breakthrough with the council and he wants to meet with us and plan out our next move. He wants to meet with us tomorrow night. I don't want to be the one to put a negative spin on this, but it sounds like a trap. He was very against the idea a week ago and said the council was as well. He still doesn't know we have Oz back and he doesn't know that Yang and Weiss are now with us either. I told him we'd meet with him tomorrow like he asked but we need to be prepared for anything. For now, we're just going to relax and make sure we're well rested. I'm going to take a nap, no one is to go into town." He got up and walked off to his room shutting the door behind him. I looked around at everyone else. "Well what do we do now?" Ruby asked. My stomach growled loudly causing everyone to look at me. "What? It's almost lunch time and I'm hungry." Ruby smiled and got up. "I'll cook lunch." Weiss followed her to the kitchen, "I'll help you out." They both went to the kitchen leaving Jaune, Ren, Nora, Oscar, and me. "Yang, I'm going outside to meditate, how about you join me?" I looked at Ren for a moment but nodded and followed him outside.

"Take a seat Yang. Fold your legs and relax your body." I faced Ren and matched his posture, taking a few deep breaths to relax my body. "If I may ask, is anything bothering you?" I had a feeling that this was why he asked me to meditate with him. So far on this journey I've had to deal with everything myself, but these are my friends, I can trust them. "Yes." He closed his eyes and took deep slow breaths, letting me continue at my own pace. "I'm not the same as I use to be, and I'm okay with that. But you saw what I did to Ruby, you should know that I'd never try to hurt her. But randomly, when I let my guard down, I see images of Adam Taurus and I lose control." The wind blew lightly, playing with both my hair and Ren's.

"I'd like you to close your eyes and breath deeply for me." I did as he asked and took slow deep breaths. I heard a slight shuffling and then few moments later felt hands placed on my shoulder. "Try to not think about Adam for a moment, don't think about where you, don't think about what we're doing here, don't think about me or Ruby or any of the others. Let everything you're feeling fade away." As he was talking I felt a creeping calmness wash over me. "Once you let go of all of that I want you to focus, focus on something that brings you comfort, picture it in your mind." Slowly images began to form in the darkness. Three blobs of red, white, and black. The more I focused on the blobs they took humanoid form and solidified into Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. "When you get stressed out or scared focus on that image." I opened my eyes and Ren was seated back across from me, I hadn't even realized that he was no longer touching me. "I may not know what it's like to lose a physical part of one's self, I've lost important things in my life. You never truly forget about them, but you don't need to. Sometimes you just need to accept that they happened and do your best to move on, and never forget that there are always friends who will help you." He smiled at me, full of kindness and concern. "let's meditate a while longer." I smiled back and nodded. At first I did have to face my problems by myself, but I now have a strong and loving family to help me when I need it.


	15. Wavering Resolve

The night air was cool on my skin. The only sounds I could hear were the leaves rubbing against each other and my own breathing. I looked out towards Mistral, focusing on the lights from Haven Academy. What Qrow told us was still in my head and I couldn't shake the bad feeling it gave me. _It's giving you a bad feeling for a reason. Qrow isn't wrong often._ I shook my head, trying get rid of the thoughts. I heard a loud yawn behind me. "Yang, what are you doing out here?" I turned and greeted Jaune. "Hey Jaune, I could be asking you the same thing you know." He laughed slightly. "Yeah, fair enough. Nora's snoring woke me up, what about you?" "Bad dream." He paused for a moment. "Has that been happening often?" I nodded. "Oh. Ever since Beacon, right?" I nodded again. He sighed. "Yeah me too. I've had some bad dreams, sometimes straight up nightmares, ever since that night. Sometimes I catch myself thinking 'What if I was fast enough? What if I was strong enough?' but I know she wouldn't want me to blame myself because she made that choice." I had never realized that Jaune was being haunted by his memories just like I was. From the moment Weiss and I got here he was still acting like the Jaune I knew from Beacon, just a little more… confident.

"Are you okay Yang?" I couldn't help it and just laughed at his question. "You know you're about the third or fourth person who's asked me that within the past couple of hours. I'm not 'okay', but I have nearly everyone here with me, so I'll be fine." He smiled at me, "Ren's meditation helped didn't it?" I nodded. "Yeah, whenever he asks me to join him I normally do, it really helps calm the mind." He looked past me, out towards Mistral. "I'm going to try to get back to sleep. You should too, don't be up too late." He went back inside, leaving me alone out in the dark. I turned back towards Mistral, staring at all the lights. The wind blew through my hair, making it sway back and forth. I sighed and went back inside. I opened the door to my shared room and stepped inside. I smiled as I noticed the lump that was both Ruby and Weiss in the same bed. I walked over to the empty bed and crawled under the covers. _Come back soon Blake, I need you._

"Are you ready?" I stared back at myself as she asked the question. "Probably not, but we don't have anymore time." She frowned back me. "So you're just going to wing it?" I shook my head. "No, I'm going to do what Qrow says and stick to what he tells us." She raised an eyebrow at me. "And if that doesn't work?" I gave her a sly smile. "Then I'll wing it. But I'm hoping it doesn't come to that." "And what about Ruby and the others?" I gave her a questioning look. "What about them? I'm confident that they can handle themselves if things go bad." "And if they can't?" I paused, "We gotta stop thinking like that. If I'm confident they can do it then you are too." She smiled, "Yeah I guess you're right. Just remember, we have friends and family here to help us." I nodded at myself. "Well I think it's time for me to leave, you need to wake up." She smiled and waved at me as I waved back.

My eyes opened slowly, allowing time to adjust to the low light in the room. I looked over at the other bed and Ruby and Weiss were still laying down. I got out of bed and left the room. The hallway light was off and no lights were coming from the living room or kitchen either. I walked down the hall towards the kitchen and turned the lights on. I rummaged through the fridge and the cabinets, finding eggs, bacon, and pancake mix. "Of course there's pancake mix," I muttered to myself, "Nora's here." I grabbed a large bowl and three skillets from the cabinets, setting the skillets on the stove and the bowl on the counter. I put some butter in the skillets and turned the stove on low, letting the butter slowly melt as I started readying the pancake batter. I took the carton of eggs and started cracking them into the largest skillet. I emptied the carton and grabbed the bacon, tearing open the packaging and putting all of it in the second skillet, the bacon sizzling on contact with the hot metal.

"Whatcha cookin?" I turned my head and greeted Nora with a smile. "Bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I have the pancake batter ready if you want to take that over. I have to focus on the eggs and bacon." "I'll take care of the pancakes, Nora will go sit and wait, won't you Nora?" Nora frowned as Ren walked into the kitchen. "But Ren." He shook his head. "If you really want to help, take over for the bacon and make sure it doesn't burn. But you're not touching the pancake mix." She nodded and stood beside me as the bacon sizzled. I added salt and pepper to the eggs as I scraped them around the skillet. Ren poured some of the batter in the skillet and then went about setting the table. Slowly as we cooked everyone started waking up and shuffling their way to the table. When the food was finished we took it all out to the table and let everyone grab what they wanted.

"Smells good out here." Qrow sat at the end of the table and grabbed his plate. "Yang made it, she was cooking when Ren and I woke up." I grabbed some eggs and bacon and put them on my plate. "You both helped too." I pointed out. "Uncle Qrow? If it is a trap we're walking into, what happens then?" Ruby questioned Qrow as he ate his pancakes. "Well at this point I think it's safe to assume that this is a trap. None of you will make a move unless I say so. They still don't know that we have added three to our number so that may take them by surprise but never let your guard down. If we get into a fight the enemy will be fighting to kill." _Fighting to kill._ I pushed the eggs around on my plate, I just couldn't shake this bad feeling I had. "I'm going to make some coffee, would anyone else like some?" I shook my head at Weiss' offer and stood up, feeling like to was about to get sick. "I'm going to take a shower." I left the table, leaving my half-finished plate of breakfast and my appetite behind.

My heart was pounding and I was sweating when I made it to the bathroom I shared with Weiss and Ruby. I leaned over the sink, feeling my breakfast come back up. I threw up, the stomach acid burning my mouth and leaving a bad taste behind. My hands were shaking and it took everything to keep my breathing steady. My mind was racing and it couldn't settle on a single thought, instead all my thoughts flooding me at once. I tried to think of Ruby, Weiss, and Blake, like Ren had taught me but I just couldn't focus. My vision faded to black. "…" A short buzz filled my ears. "Ya…" Again, the buzz, clearer this time. "Yang!" I felt vigorous shaking. "Yang!" Slowly my vision came back to me, Ruby was in front of me, her hands holding onto mine. "Yang what's wrong?" Her voice and touch anchored me, my heart beat slowing and my breathing evening out. "I-I-I don't… know." She placed her hand on my chest, I could feel the coolness of her skin on mine, "It's okay Yang, everything is okay." I grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. "I think you had a panic attack." She looked me over, even lightly poked me and moved my arms and legs around, making sure I was okay. "Take your shower, I'll be in the bedroom. If you need anything just call for me okay?" I nodded, not really able to form words. She left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

I stood up, just now realizing that I was seated on the ground. I turned the faucet on and cupped some water to mouth, rinsing the taste of bile from my mouth and cleaning the sink. I turned to the shower and ran the water until it was a comfortable warm. I took my clothes off and stepped in, letting the warm water run over me, like a liquid blanket. It was soothing, the rhythmic pattern of the water as it hit me and flowed down my body. I washed my hair, lathered up with soap, and rinsed off. I shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel from the hook on the door and dried off. I put my shirts and shirt back on and grabbed a brush from the counter. I opened the door and Ruby was sitting on my bed, staring at me. I walked over to her and handed her the brush, sitting on the bed in front of her. "You want me to… brush your hair?" I nodded, "Please."

She gently pulled the brush through my hair, undoing any knots from my shower. I probably surprised her, I normally never let her or anyone else touch my hair, and that's probably why she was being extra slow and careful. When she was done she set the brush on the ground. I scooted a little further away from her and laid down, resting my head on her lap. She lightly touched my head and timidly started running her fingers through my hair. I laid there and let her play with my hair, "Oh, so soft." I smiled as I heard her whisper to herself. It was keeping Ruby happy and it felt nice and relaxing. "Thank you, Ruby." I remember back when we were younger Ruby would do this all the time. She would lay her head in my lap and I would play with her hair until she would fall asleep or get bored. "I'm sorry that you're the one having to play big sister all of a sudden." She continued playing with my hair, "Don't be sorry Yang, a lot of things have happened to both of us. We're sisters, we're supposed to be there for each other when we need it, right now you need me, so I'm doing my job." I sat up, pulling my hair away from Ruby, her sigh noting her disappointment at me for taking my hair away.

"You don't have to come to Haven, you know that right?" I turned around to face her, shaking my head. "No, I have to go. I need to be there, I told myself that when I found you guys I wouldn't let you leave me behind again." I switched out my shirt and gym shorts for my actual clothes and grabbed Ember Celica. "Come on Ruby, I want to train a little more."

"I don't want to full on spar, just think of it like exercise." We moved slow at first, throwing slow punches and kicks at each other and blocking them. With each punch and kick I started moving faster, forcing Ruby to keep up. _I'm in control here. It's just me and Ruby._ Even though we picked up pace I didn't put any extra force into my movements, allowing soft impacts when our hands or legs connected. Soon enough it became a game of trying to keep up with Ruby, her semblance allowing for greater speed and the time between contacts becoming less and less. Sweat started forming on my head and arm, droplets shaking off every time I made contact with Ruby. I just finished blocking a kick when I noticed a punch coming for me I couldn't block. I quickly pushed backwards with my right foot, jumping back slightly, making Ruby momentarily lose her balance before she corrected herself.

"I think that's enough, I can't keep up anymore." Ruby smiled at me triumphantly, "Not bad sis, I think you may have even gotten a little faster." I rolled my eyes, "You can beat me in speed sure, but I'd like to see you beat me in strength." She laughed, "Yeah, fair enough. Let's go back inside, I have yet to shower today and you my dear sister need to towel off. You're sweaty and gross." I playfully punched her arm, "I wouldn't be sweaty and gross if someone didn't take the exercise so serious. Oh yeah, one more thing." I grabbed her cloak and pulled it up over her head. "I'm getting a shower before you." I spun her around and ran inside, locking the door behind me. I ran into our room, startling Weiss who was coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.

"Yang!" I locked the bedroom door. "What do you think you are doing?" I quickly pulled most of my clothes off and threw them on my bed. "Trying to get to the shower before Ruby." The doorknob to our room jiggled violently. "Yang, that is so not fair." I smiled as Ruby shouted from the hallway. "Feel free to let her in once I'm in the shower. Oh, and try not 'accidently' drop your towel after you let Ruby in." I smiled and stuck my tongue out at Weiss as her face flushed a vibrant red. I closed the bathroom door and locked it. I started the shower back up and took off my bra and underwear. I looked myself over in the mirror, something I've become accustomed to doing recently. Compared to how I looked before I left home, the person in the mirror was unrecognizable. I still remember that person that stared back at me, her eyes dull and her hair dry and lifeless, even physically she looked like she was ready to give up. Now though, the person staring back at me was completely different. My eyes were bright again, my hair was bright and alive. My muscle definition was even starting to return and, aside from the few scratches and bruises, I looked amazing. I smiled at my reflection and got in the shower.

I didn't take as much time as I did earlier, just quickly washed my body and hair to get rid of the sweat. I toweled off and put my bra and underwear back on, putting my wet hair up in the towel instead of taking the time to dry it so Ruby could have her turn in the shower. I opened the door and sighed. "Really?" Ruby and Weiss were laying on their shared bed, wrapped up in each other and making out. They pulled away from each other quickly. "Yang, it's not what it- I mean it is- I mean… ugh?" I did my best to look serious before I just busted out laughing. "Hey, what you two do is your business. I'm happy for both of you, just please take care of each other." I grabbed Weiss and Ruby and pulled them both in for a hug. "Also, don't go around corrupting my innocent little sis, Weiss." She scoffed, "Coming from the girl forcefully holding her sister and myself against her practically naked body." I let them go, "I'm quite happy with my practically naked body, thank you very much." I unwrapped the towel from my head, letting my still damp hair fall around my shoulders. "Ruby you may now have the shower." I turned to my bed, grabbing my discarded clothes and putting them back on. Ruby entered the bathroom and locked the door, the sound of the shower following moments later.

"Did you talk to Ruby?" I turned to Weiss, who was making her and Ruby's bed. "What about?" I asked, avoiding the question. "Don't play dumb, you talked to Ruby because you heard what I whispered yesterday didn't you?" I shrugged and started making my bed, "I don't know what you're talking about." She sighed at my answer. "Deny it all you want, but I know you talked to her." I felt her arms wrap around me. "Thank you, Yang." I smiled to myself, "You're welcome. I'm serious though, please take care of each other. It's only going to get more dangerous from here." Weiss pulled her arms away, "Yeah I know, but everyone is here. We all lookout for each other." I felt a slight tug at my heart, "Not everyone's here." I said quietly. Weiss didn't say anything else, so I finished making my bed and left the room.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a tad jealous of Ruby and Weiss. _What do I have to be jealous of?_ Ruby has her partner back, and now also has a girlfriend. _Meanwhile your partner is god knows where and you feel all alone._ I grumbled to myself, quieting my thoughts. I couldn't let myself be worried about that right now, there are more important things going on. "What's on your mind firecracker?" I jumped slightly at Qrow's voice, I had walked right by without even noticing him. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He didn't look convinced at my answer. "How much longer are you going to turn away people trying to help you?" I stopped, silently staring at Qrow. "That's what I thought, now what's wrong?" I didn't know where to start, I didn't want to tell him about Ruby and Weiss because it wasn't my place to tell him. "I don't like this Qrow. I've had a bad feeling ever since Weiss and I got here, and I just can't shake it. Something bad is going to happen." Qrow leaned against the wall, his expression blank and emotionless. "Yeah, I've had that feeling too." I looked back at him, slight anger welling up. "Then why are we walking right into their trap?" I held my anger back, keeping a calm composure as best I could. "Because it's something we have to do Yang. Look, I know it's hard to do something when you know it's going to be bad. I don't like it anymore than you do, but if we don't do something Salem wins and the world falls, that's not an idea I'm willing to entertain." He sounded so sure of himself, everyone did, everyone except me. "But what about-" Qrow put his hand on my head, stopping me much like he did when I was younger. "If you keep focusing on all the bad that could happen, you're gonna miss your chance to turn that bad into something good. I know that I may seem like an irresponsible uncle who gets drunk all the time, but I know what I'm talking about. I can't promise that no one will get hurt, there's a risk that comes with this job. The only thing I can promise is that this is your chance to do something good." He pulled his hand back and left, leaving me alone in the hallway. _My chance to do something good?_ I clenched my hands tightly, I still had a bad feeling but Qrow's words had given me a new-found resolve. _I won't let the world fall to darkness._

My stomach growled reminding me that I threw up my breakfast earlier. I went to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets, settling on a granola bar I found. I sat on the couch and ate my granola bar, wondering where everyone else had gone. I knew Ruby and Weiss were still in our room, but I hadn't seen Oscar, Jaune, Nora, or Ren since breakfast. I heard some dull thuds from outside and got up to investigate. Oscar was outside, striking his cane against the tree in quick fluid movements. I went outside and continued to watch him. He finished with a blunt jab at the tree, leaving a small circular indentation on the bark. "Not bad, you're getting better." He turned around, surprised by my presence. "Yeah, Ozpin said that his combat memory would transfer to me the more I practice. It's weird, but I like it." He moved to put his cane away, "Wait, spar with me for a bit." He raised an eyebrow, "Why?" I smiled, "You said Ozpin's combat memory would transfer to you. I wanna see how good he was." A warm green glow washed over Oscar, "How good I am, Ms. Xiao Long. I'm still alive and I can still fight."

We stood a couple steps apart from each other, Ember Celica was inactive, hanging from my wrists and Ozpin had his cane held behind his back. "Are you going to make the first move, or shall I?" I moved to take a step forward, but Ozpin was already inches from me before my foot touched the ground. I felt a sharp jab in my stomach and was pushed back several feet. "I wonder who will make the second move?" I knew he was trying to provoke me. I moved to take a step again but was ready for him this time and caught his cane in my left hand and punched him in the stomach with my right, this time sending him back a few feet. "Please don't be too rough, this isn't my body after all." He quickly lunged forward, jabbing his cane at me. I did my best to dodge but felt whenever it connected. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us and tried to sweep his legs out from under him. He jumped over my leg and lightly smacked my head with the cane, leaving a very dull ache but nothing too serious. "Care to continue?" He asked curiously. "Yeah, I'm not done yet." I switched up my tactics, rushing him instead of waiting for him to come to me. _If I can force him to keep defending, he can't attack._ He held his cane behind him, blocking only with his free hand and legs when necessary. "Not bad, you've changed up your fighting style since the Vytal Tournament." He swung the cane around, stopping my kick and then jabbing me in the shoulder while I was off balance. "I believe that's enough." I wanted to continue but nodded. "Yeah, I agree. I'm not good enough to go up against you." I shook his hand. "Not good enough yet, Ms. Xiao-Long. You're still young and have a lot of room to improve." That green glow washed over him again and Oscar was back. "Sorry if your stomach hurts, I got a little carried away." He shook his head, smiling. "Nah I'm fine, he's better at using our aura to protect my body. What about you? You got hit quite a few times." Dull aches echoed across my body from the cane jabs, but it was pain that I was used to. "It's all good. I am a little tired though, I think I'm gonna go rest up before tonight." He nodded and turned his attention back to the tree, the dull thwacks of his cane against the wood filling the air before I even got back inside.

Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were all sitting in the living doing various activities. Ruby was reading comic books next to Weiss who was reading a novel, Jaune and Nora were playing a board game, and Ren drank tea while he watched Nora and Jaune. "I can't believe you let Oscar show you up like that." Ruby teased. "I didn't let Oscar show me up, that was Ozpin." "Oooooooooohhhhhh, yeah he's tough." A loud thud came off to my left and Jaune had his head planted firmly on the floor. "How do you always beat me Nora?" Nora smiled, "Cause I'm good." "She cheated exactly six turns ago without you noticing." Ren added, and took a long drink from his cup. "Nora, how could you? I thought we were teammates." I laughed at the nearly cartoonish display unfolding in front of me. "You know, it's almost like we're back at Beacon." Everyone looked at me. "I mean come on, tell me you all don't see it. It's like any number of days in the cafeteria or the time we were playing Ruby's board game in the library. Everyone is relaxed, doing their own thing, having fun." The smile dropped from my face. "It… reminds me what I'm fighting for. How things can be again once all of this over… you know?" Everyone nodded, the air in the living room thick with… sadness. "Sorry to bring everyone down, I'm gonna go take a nap." I quickly left the living room. "Yang, wait." I ignored Ruby and headed to our bedroom, quietly closing the door and flopping down on my bed. _Damn it Yang, why do you always do that?_ I took Ember Celica off and placed both on the nightstand. I rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of my heart beating. I relaxed into the pillow, wanting to just go to sleep and for everything to be better when I woke up.

"Yang, wake up." I grumbled and tried to roll over. "Come on sleepy it's time to wake up." I groaned. "Don't wanna." I felt a soft pair of lips press against, a pair of arms pulling me into a deep kiss. They pulled away and I sat up, blinking slowly, as my vision came into focus. Blake was sitting at my feet, smiling sweetly. Her hair was a little messy and her cat ears twitched slightly. "Are you gonna get up now?" I nodded, well if you put that much effort into waking me up I can't really ignore you." I grabbed her and pulled her in close, kissing her deeply. "You know I love you right?" I asked her. "She smiled and rolled her eyes. "You only tell me every day." She kissed my forehead and crawled off the bed. "I love you too Yang. Come downstairs, Ruby and Weiss made breakfast. If you're fast enough you may even get a sweet treat." She winked at me and walked out.

"I'll be down in a second." The door slammed shut and the room darkened, and eerie red glow filling the room. A low deep laugh echoed around the room. "Ha, no you won't. You're not making it downstairs. You're not going anywhere." A mass of darkness leaked from the walls, Adam was in my room. "I told you once before girly, Blake belongs to me, she's my pet." He brought his hand up in a fist, a chain forming from the darkness. I watched the chain slither down to the floor and end up hooked on a collar that was around Blake's neck. "Isn't that right Blake?" He yanked on the collar making Blake shout in pain. "Let her go!" I lunged from the bed and tackled Adam to the ground. "I'll kill you if you hurt her again, do you hear me!" I punched him in the face hard with my right hand, his Grimm mask cracking. He laughed the whole time not even flinching at the pain. I punched him again and again, trying to make him shut up but the harder I punched him the louder his sick laughter grew until I couldn't even hear my heart pounding. I brought my right fist up as high as I could and brought it crashing down into his face one last, his mask shattering and falling away. His face was bloodied and bruised, and he coughed up blood as he laughed. His eyes cold and red staring right back at me as his face slowly melted away into the darkness. "You'll never be able to understand Blake like I did. After all, you're just another human who's hurt her." I turned to Blake and reached over to pull the collar off from around her neck. As soon as my fingers touched the black metal Blake melted away, leaving a collar in my hands as the room started fading. I felt a single tear roll down my cheek as everything faded away entirely.

I slowly opened my eyes as the door to our bedroom creaked open, "Yang, are you awake?" I sat up in bed greeting Ruby, "Yeah, I'm awake. Is it time to go?" She nodded, "Yeah we're all getting ready." I got out of bed and grabbed Ember Celica, sliding them snuggly on my wrists. Ruby was still standing in the door as I laced up my boots. "Okay," I looked into her eyes and smiled, "let's go save the world."


	16. The Battle for Haven

It was dark, and the shattered moon hung high in the sky as we walked through the courtyard of Haven. No one talked as we followed Qrow up to the main building. He pushed the door open and we stepped into a large open room. A man was standing on a small terrace at the top of a set of stairs on the opposite side of the room. "Why hello. Thank you for… coming. There… seems to be more of you than last time." I couldn't have been the only one to notice his nervous laughs. "Eh, you know what they say, 'The more the merrier.' So what's going on with the council." The man who I'm assuming was Lionheart glanced at all of us nervously. "Why… did you bring your weapons." He didn't do much to hide his nervousness. "What? Leo, we're Huntsmen. You okay?" Another nervous laugh, "Of course! Of course, sorry. Just haven't had my evening coffee." I broke my attention away from Qrow and Lionheart and took in the room around me. "Look, it's nice to see you but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?"

I noticed a black spot from the corner of my eye and focused in on it. It was a large black bird… a raven. "Mom?" A loud gunshot rings out and the railing she was perched on blew apart as she took to the air. I watched as she flew behind Lionheart and reappeared as her normal self, her mask covering her face. "Raven…" Ruby whispered. "They…they really are magic…" Nora added. I didn't break eye contact with her as she started descending the stairs. "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting." Even from here I could see the smirk on her face. "What are you doing here?!" She continued down the stairs, completely unfazed. "I could ask you the same thing. You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister." Qrow turned to Lionheart. "Leo… what have you done?!" He glanced back and forth between Raven and us. "I…" She cut him off before he could continue. "Leo did what any sane person would in his position; he looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice. It seems you all have too."

"You have the Spring Maiden." Qrow pressed, his voice filled with anger. "I do." The tension was getting thicker and thicker in the room. "Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!" She sighed, annoyed with Qrow. "All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with. There _is_ no beating Salem!" "You're wrong." Ruby's voice rang out in the silence. "We've done things that most people call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please." Ruby held her hand for my mom. She glared at Ruby's hand and then locked eyes with her. "You sound just like your mother."

Mom drew her sword and created a portal right next to her. A fireball flew from the portal hitting, hitting Ruby and knocking her back several feet. "Ruby!" I ran over to her and helped her up. "Hello boys and girls." I looked back, noticing Cinder standing in front of the portal as Vernal, Emerald, and Mercury step out to join her. "Cinder…" Ruby let go of me, standing on her own. "C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" I glared at him and voiced my displeasure with a growl. Qrow held his arms up and looked back at us. "Everybody, stay calm." The sound of the heavy doors opening drew our attention. "Oh no.." I could barely hear Oscar as a tall, muscular, dark skinned man entered the room and closed the doors behind him. "The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out." I grabbed Ruby and pulled her closer to me as we regrouped with Qrow and the others. "This was all just a trap?" Weiss asked. "It appears so…" Ren answered. I kept my eyes moving, bouncing from one of the enemy to the next. Qrow stayed focused on Mom. "Raven, tell me… how long have you been with them?"

"Aww, don't take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand… Entrance into the Vytal festival was a real treat, Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, _very_ long time. Isn't that right, professor?" Lion heart looked away from us. "It was you… you sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her?" All of Qrow's anger was now directed at Lionheart. "I-" "I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!" The look on Lionheart's face looked familiar. It was sadness and self-pity, the same look I use to wear. "Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually." I knew what Cinder was trying to do. She was trying to goad us and Lionheart.

"What is wrong with you?" Jaune sudden outburst caught us by surprise. "How can you be so broken inside… to take so many lives, and then continue to rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?!" The amount of anger in his voice was something I'd never had expected out of him. "All with that _damn_ smile on your face!" Everyone drew their weapons and I activated Ember Celica. "Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow tried to ease the tension but I already knew it was too late. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!" "Kid!" Qrow reached for Jaune but he yanked away from him. "Well? SAY SOMETHING!" Silence fell between our two groups. "Who are you again?" Jaune grabbed his sword and lunged at Cinder. She summoned flames and created a black stone sword to block Jaune. "Jaune!" Ruby leaped forward to help but a chain wrapped around her and slammed her to the ground. "You're not getting near her." I ran forward to help Ruby but was stopped when Mercury landed in front of me, blocking my path. "Hey there, blondie. I'm thinking you owe me an apology for my leg, don't ya think?" I used Ember Celica to launch myself at him as everyone got into their own fights.

I blocked out everything going on around me, so I could focus on Mercury. "I remembered what Dad taught me before I left, _"Remember Yang, brute force isn't always the only answer to a problem. Sometimes, if you just take a minute to analyze the situation, you'll see there are other solutions."_ I focused on Mercury, his cocky grin painted on his face. "I don't want to fight you." I told him. "So, I'm only going to give you one chance. Fight with us, if you're scared of Salem we can stop her. You can help us stop her." I thought I'd take a page out of both Ruby's and Dad's book. "Sorry blondie, but it's not gonna happen." He jumped into the air and fired off a blast from his boots, sending him speeding at me. He brought his leg up and aimed an axe kick right for my head. I grabbed his foot and used his own momentum to swing him over top of me and into the ground. "I've gotten better since the last time we fought." He spun, knocking my legs out from under. He sprung up and planted his foot into my stomach, blasting me back a couple feet. "So have I."

I trained with Dad for weeks before leaving on my own. He taught me how to add kicks into my fighting style and also how to defend against them. I ran at Mercury, avoiding the shots he fired at me, and let loose with a kick. He brought his leg up and blocked so I quickly shifted into a right hook but he blocked that too. "Maybe you were wrong, because I don't think you've gotten better at all." I ignored him and struck at his stomach, catching him off guard. He was trying to provoke me, make me fight sloppily. I'm not the same person I was when I left though, I'm in control of myself. I delivered and uppercut right to his chin and kicked him away from me, giving myself a few seconds to breath. "I'm not gonna let it be that easy." He kicked off the ground, a blast from his boot sending him up into the air. He fired down at me in rapid succession, blasting the ground around me and blocking my vision with a cloud of dust. I felt a sharp pain in my head as his foot connected with my skull, smashing me into the ground. I rolled backwards using the momentum to stand me back up. Immediately Mercury went on the offensive, not giving me time to fully recover.

"Come on, blondie. Don't tell me losing your arm made you this weak." I caught his foot as he kicked at my stomach. I pulled him towards me and planted my fist into his gut. "Ngh, that's the way blondie. Get angry." I moved to punch him again, but a bright white light and Ruby's voice filled the room. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" I looked back at Ruby who was now lying on the ground unconscious, past her Cinder was kneeling in pain and Jaune was his sword at her. A kick in the chest knocked the wind out of me. "I'd focus on the enemy right in front of you." I tried to stay focused on Mercury, but I needed to get to Ruby. "If you want to get to her so badly, you need to beat me first." He came at me again, throwing a punch, before spinning around and kicking the side of my knee. His gaze focused past me, then he looked down, smirking. "I hope you're not too attached to the heiress." I heard a sharp gasp and quickly turned around. I'll never forget the sickening sight I saw. A black spear was sticking out from Weiss' abdomen, blood slowly staining her clothes. The spear disintegrated, and Weiss slumped to the floor motionless.

"WEISS!" Jaune's voice echoed through the room. He ran over to Weiss and picked up her motionless body. I looked over at Ruby and Oscar and Nora were right by her side. The large man was gripping Lionheart by his jacket but suddenly dropped him and turned to Ruby, Oscar, and Nora. "OZPIN! You thought you could hide from ME?!" He ripped his coat off and pulled out lightning Dust crystals from pouches on his legs. "You'll pay for what you did! You'll die over and over again!" He stabbed the Dust into his arms, his blood vessels turning yellow and bulging out of his arms. He let out a deep guttural roar and charged at the group. I looked over to Cinder, Mom, and Vernal as they stood in front of the statue in the stairs as it started to lower. I looked over and Jaune and Ren as they tried to help Weiss and then back over to Ruby and Nora. Nora looked up at me, "Stop them! We've got your team covered!" I stood still for a moment but nodded and started running towards Mom and the others. A sharp kick to the head knocked me to the ground. I looked up and Mercury and Emerald were blocking my path. "You wanna get to them? You're going to have to get through all of us." Emerald glared down at me as multiple copies of Mercury appeared around me, closing me in a tight circle. I got up and quickly looked around, trying to count the number of enemies. I swung at the closest copy, my fist fazing right through him. A kick came from my right catching me in the ribs. I swung again but just like last time my fist fazed right through him.

The building shook around us, distracting them long enough for to use Ember Celica to get out of the circle, but a cold metal chain wrapped around my waist and pulled me to the ground. "Mercury isn't done with you yet." All the copies rushed me at once. I couldn't tell which were real, so I swung at all of them. None of my punches connected but multiple times I felt blows to my legs, stomach, and ribs. I stumbled back, my aura levels had to be getting low. I could feel the power stockpiling from all the hits I've taken but ignored it as I kept fighting back. Another kick knocked me back but I recovered and charged, my fist fazing through him again. I turned ready to attack the next one but instead of Mercury it was Mom standing in front of me. I faltered, giving Mercury the chance to attack. I blocked it but was knocked down again, my aura flashing but not giving out. Emerald slowly approached me, "We were only told to keep your sister alive, Cinder wants to kill her personally. You though, I'll enjoy killing you." Ruby landed next to me, knocking Emerald back and making all the copies of Mercury disappear, leaving just the real Emerald and Mercury. "Thanks, sis." I took the moment of rest to get back up. "You okay?" I focused in on Emerald and Mercury, "No, I'm angry." Another vibration rocked through the building.

I crossed behind Ruby and jumped at Emerald, slamming into her and taking us both to the ground. "I thought you were going to enjoy killing me?" I picked her up and threw her across the room. She stood up and fired at me with her weapons. I fired a few shots from Ember Celica, making her break eye contact and stop firing. I lunged forward, closing the distance between us. From what I remember, she was better at fighting from a distance, using guerilla tactics to fight. But there was nowhere to hide in here and up close I had the advantage. I swung at her chest, firing a blast from Ember Celica. She stumbled back but I kept the pressure on. "If you weren't so focused on using distractions to win you might actually be a good fighter." I grabbed her arm as she swung her scythe at me, sending another blast into her chest. "Shut up! You don't know anything about me!" She broke free and jumped back a few feet. She launched the scythe end of her weapon at me, the chain wrapping around my right arm. I planted my feet as she tried to pull me closer to her. "I do know something about you. You're scared, you're scared and you're weak." I yanked back hard, pulling the weapon from her hand. The chain around my arm loosened and I slipped free, throwing the small gun-scythe aside. "Shut up!" A loud smash filled my ears, as the larger man was sent flying outside from a swing of Nora's hammer. "It looks like you all bit off more than you can chew." Emerald's face twisted in anger, "I said shut up! As soon as Cinder kills your mother and that Spring Maiden she'll be powerful enough to take you all out!" I faltered at the mention of Cinder killing Mom, giving Emerald a chance to knock me back. _I need to get down there._

A low buzzing drew my attention away from Emerald, a large pure white Queen Lancer hovered in the air above Weiss as snow whipped around her. The Lancer shot its tail barb out through the large hole in the wall and pulled the large man back inside. Weiss gasped and her attention was drawn to something behind Ruby and me. We both turned and found what she was surprised about. "Yang?" Blake was standing just inside the destroyed doorway staring at all of us. I froze, a swirl of emotions flooding my head. "Yang! Go!" Ruby's voiced snapped me out of my trance as she pointed to the opening to the vault. I ran towards Emerald and Mercury, the gap between them big enough to fit through. "NO!" Emerald dove for me and missed but Mercury reached out and grabbed onto my right arm. I started looking back, my anger bubbling to the surface. _"As soon as she's done killing your mother and that Spring Maiden…"_ I closed my eyes and turned away, detaching my arm as I kept running for the large hole in the ground. I got to the edge and jumped.

I fell through the darkness, my hair whipping around me as I free fell towards… I wasn't sure. The loud crashes and shaking had died down which meant whatever was happening down here was over. A dim orange glow brightened as I got closer. I could see the ground rushing to meet me and forced myself into a tuck, firing a blast from Ember Celica to soften my landing. I got up and stared down Mom as she stood in front of a large open doorway that to what looked like a desert. Small, glowing, orange leaves floated through the air as I approached her. She stood still and waited until we were a few feet from each other.

"I warned you, Yang. I gave you every opportunity to walk away from Qrow and Oz. So you can believe me when I say this wasn't personal." I glared at her, not breaking eye contact. " _You_ opened the vault." I noticed Vernal as I approached, she was dead, blood staining her clothes around pierced marks in her skin; Cinder was nowhere to be found. "Thanks to the chaos you and your friends caused upstairs. I knew you could handle it. You're my daughter after all." Vernal never was the Spring Maiden, it had been her all along. "Qrow and Oz told me how the Maiden powers are transferred. The girl you found… she would've had to have trusted you if you were in her final thoughts, cared about you a lot." She wasn't facing me anymore. "I'm sure the told you plenty, and you just sat and obeyed." The contempt was thick on her voice. "No, I'm starting to ask questions, like you said. So tell me… what happened to the last Spring Maiden? Did she die in battle? Was it sickness?" She turned back around, her eyes training on me. "What does it matter to you?" Her face was serious, and the answer I wanted was right in front of me. "I can already see the answer. It's all over your face. How could you?!" She had killed the last Spring Maiden. "She was scared when we found her! Weak. No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world! And with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life! What I did-" I cut her off. "Wasn't personal." Her posture changed as she got angry and I saw my old self in her. "It was mercy!" I pushed the subject digging for answers. "Which is it Mom? Are you merciful, … or are you a survivor?" I started circling her. "Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?" She turned slowly as I circled her, always facing me. "It's not that simple! You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through, the choices I've had to make!" It was starting to hurt, getting the answers I've searched for, for so long.

"You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven Dad told me about. She was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe!" A silence fell between us as I motioned to Vernal's body. "Did you kill her too?" An expression of shock showed on her face as she looked back towards Vernal. "I've stared death in the face over and over again! And every time I've in that face and survived, because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!" Red flames began to emit from her eyes. "Oh, shut up!" I was getting pissed as she was standing her lecturing me about being strong. "You don't know the first thing about strength! You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!" I clenched my fist and pointed at her. "You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong." She was angry now, I could tell by her movements and tone. "Who do you think you are, lecturing me?! Standing there, shaking like a scared little girl!" She was right. "Yeah. I'm scared. But I'm still standing here! I'm not like you, I won't run. Which is why you're going to give me the Relic." I stood firm, standing my ground. "And why would I-" I cut her off again, "Because you're afraid of Salem! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic." She turned away from me, looking through the doorway. "She'll come after you with everything she has. Or she can come after me." She looked back, shock on her face. And I'll be standing there. Waiting for her." A long pause hung in the air, the orange leaves floating along with the slight wind in this cavern.

She took a step forward and I mirrored her, barely any space left between the two of us. Her eyes stopped glowing and her voice dropped to a whisper. "You don't want to do this Yang." I shook my head. "Nope. But I'm gonna do it anyway." I stepped forward purposefully bumping her as I stepped past her towards the large doorway. I stopped right before it and stared inside. "I… I'm sorry." I could hear the tears in her face and I felt my eyes start to water. "Yeah. Me too." I looked back and a single black feather drifted to the ground. I turned back to the door and hesitantly stepped through. Ahead of me on a pedestal, a small gold lantern like object floated ominously, it's center a bright blue. I reached out and grabbed the handle lifting it up. The emotion I'd been holding back that entire conversation hit me at once. I dropped to my knees, clutching the Relic, as tears started rolling down my face. I cried, finally having the answers I wanted, but still wanting her back. I didn't even try holding it back, the worst part was knowing that she was just as upset and sad about this as I was. I stayed on the ground until the tears stopped flowing and stood up, wiping my face and turning back towards the doorway. I stepped back out, the door closing behind me, and walked to the elevator. I stepped on and it lit up blue as it started heading back up. I stood silently as the light at the top of the shaft got closer and closer with each second.

I looked at everyone as the platform rose above the ground and stopped at the top of the stairs. I looked over to my friends showing them that I had the Relic. "Yang." I smiled at Ruby and looked over to Blake. We locked eyes and she looked away, before looking back and smiling. I looked over at the other three. Emerald, Mercury, and the large guy. Emerald dropped her weapons and fell to her knees. Mercury and the other guy backed away from my group. "Emerald, get up, we need to go." She looked up at Mercury and then over to us. "Emerald." Mercury held his hand out. She gripped her head and screamed. "ARRRGGGHHH!" The room grew dark and a large swirling mass of darkness appeared in the center of the room. A large cloaked figure rose from it. She had pale white skin with blackened red veins showing along her arms and face. Her ash white hair was done up in a terrifyingly elegant manner. She rose to incredibly height and let out an ear-piercing screech. When I opened my eyes back up Mercury, Emerald, and the large man were gone, and whatever or whoever that cloaked woman is was nowhere to be seen. "Wha- What was that?" I turned at the sound of Blake's voice, Gambol Shroud still held out in front of her defensively. "An illusion." Oz answered. "But an accurate one. That… was Salem." A group of three people came running in, a large man with a beard and purple cloak, a woman who looked similar to Blake but with short hair, and Sun. They started talking but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I noticed Qrow standing at the bottom of the staircase and started walking down. I got to the bottom and handed him the Relic. "What happened?" I looked up at him. "I don't know exactly. When I got down there, Cinder was gone, and Vernal was dead." Qrow's expression softened. "And Raven?" I paused. "Gone." His posture relaxed and his voice lightened. "Well, we're all glad you're still here, firecracker."

"Ugghh." I looked over as Ruby fell to her knees, Weiss dropping to catch her. "Are you okay?" She looked over at Weiss. "I feel like I should be asking you guys." I walked over and joined Ruby and Weiss on the ground. "So Blake…" We all looked up at Blake who was standing in front of us. "What're you doing here?" She looked down and grabbed at her arm. "I- I was gonna ask you three the same thing." Ruby looked to Weiss, and then me, before we all looked back at Blake. "That's… a looong story." She let go of her arm and her expression softened up. "Well… I'm not going anywhere." I looked down at the ground. "That's all that matters." Ruby told her. "That we're all here together. Right?" I felt Weiss and Ruby's eyes on me and looked to them before up at Blake. I didn't know when I was going to see Blake again, but here she was right in front of me. I nodded, a smile creeping its way onto my face. "Yeah." She looked up, smiling and joined the rest of us on the ground for a group hug. "We're Team RWBY once again." Ruby whispered. A tear, rolled down my face and hit the floor. I was smiling, "Yeah, we are."


	17. Together Again

"Mom, Dad, this is my team." We were back at the house as the Mistral Police were still cleaning up the mess. "It's a pleasure to meet you three. I'm Ghira and this is my wife Kali." I shook Ghira's hand and Kali gave me a hug. "Your hair is just magnificent. And with hair like that you have to be Yang, right?" I blushed and looked away. "Yeah." Weiss stood a few steps back from us, not making eye contact. Blake walked over to her and whispered into her ear. She timidly stepped forward, "I- it's a pleasure to meet you." Kali pulled Weiss into a hug too. "So, you're the Schnee, Blake told us how good of a friend you've been to her." Ghira nodded and shook Weiss' hand as well. "I'll be the first to admit that when Blake told me she was friends with a Schnee I was skeptical but seeing how well you fought alongside my daughter tonight, I'm happy to say I was wrong." Kali moved on to Ruby and grabbed her hands. "And you must be Ruby, the leader." Ruby giggled, "Yeah that's me. It's nice to meet you both." Blake walked over to Ren, Nora, and Jaune. "These are my friends; Ren, Nora, and Jaune. They're another team that we lived next to back at Beacon. We used to have another friend, but… she's no longer with us." A somber silence fell over the room. "Yeah, but Pyrrah was a heck of a fighter though." Nora put on her best smile and tried to lighten the mood. "Yeah," Jaune added. "If she would've been here with us tonight, we probably would've been all wrapped up by the time everybody else showed up." Ren sighed, "She was a fantastic friend, and she is missed dearly."

Qrow brought in a large tray with multiple cups and two large pouring pots and set it down on the center table. "I've made tea and coffee for everyone. Tea is in the white pot, and coffee is in the brown. Please, help yourselves." Ruby picked up a cup and poured some coffee. "Thanks Uncle Qrow." A knock on the front door drew our attention. Qrow walked over to the door and opened it, a girl in a tight suit and hair done up in a ponytail and Sun were in the doorway. "They're both fine." Blake said. "The police are busy rounding up the last of the White Fang members in Haven." The girl said. "Yeah, and a lot of the faunus are getting ready to head back to Menagerie. I think they're waiting for you two though." Sun said, addressing Kali and Ghira. Ghira picked up one of the cups and poured himself some tea. "I'm going to have some tea before we leave." Kali nodded in agreement and poured herself some as well. "Yes, it has been quite a long day." I grabbed a cup and poured myself some coffee, taking a small sip. "So," Sun asked. "What's the plan now?" I looked over at the others and they just shrugged. I turned to Qrow who was standing in the corner, drinking from his flask. "Before Oscar passed out, he told me that Oz said we need to get the Relic to Atlas. So that's our next move. But we're going to wait a few days, get some rest and recover. You've all earned it." Kali set her cup down on the tray, empty. "Well dear, I believe we better get going. There's a lot of work ahead of you." Ghira sighed but smiled. "Yes, I believe you are right. Blake?" We all turned to Blake who sat quietly next to me.

"I can't come back to Menagerie, not yet. I know that we haven't had much time to spend as a family, but my team needs me right now. I hope you both understand." Kali nodded and looked at Ghira who wore a blank expression on his face. His expression broke into a warm smile. "Yes, I believe I understand." He and Kali stood up. "Come Blake, give us a hug before we leave." She got up and hugged her parents tightly. "I promise I'll be safe." She broke away from the hug and turned to the girl with the ponytail. "Ilia, I need you to go with them." She shook her head. "But I want to stay with you and help. I have so much I need to make up for." Blake nodded, "And that's why you need to go back with my parents. You were with the White Fang longer than I was. My dad is going to need help reaching out to all of it's members. If you want to make up for everything that happened helping my parents is going to be the best start." The girl, Ilia, hugged Blake. "I promise I'll do my best." Sun stood next to the door. "I'll make sure everyone gets back to Menagerie safely, then I'm going back to get Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage. If Atlas is the next stop, we'll be waiting for you." We all said our goodbyes, and the four of them left, leaving the rest of us in a quiet house. I stood up but immediately fell back into the couch. "Yang!" I smiled, "Don't worry Ruby. I'm just tired." I yawned and stood back up. "After a night like this I think we all need to get some rest." Qrow added. "There will be plenty of time for catching up in the morning." He grabbed the tray he brought out and took it back to the kitchen. We all said goodnight and went to our rooms. Ruby and Weiss led Blake to our room while Nora, Jaune, and Ren went to theirs.

I stepped into the kitchen where Qrow was washing the cups. "How's Oscar doing?" He was out cold and Qrow had to carry him back from Haven. "He's just really tired. Fighting like that took a lot out of the both of them." I nodded, fighting off my own exhaustion. "Earlier you asked me about Mom down in the vault." He set the cups in the sink and turned to me. "Yeah?" I swallowed hard. "I lied, she was there. I confronted her, finally got some of the answers I wanted and then some. Vernal wasn't the Spring Maiden." His eyes widened slightly. "Raven?" he asked. I nodded. "Yes, Mom is the Spring Maiden. I don't know how much it is worth, but it was a tearful departure. I think she really was upset that it all turned out like this." He ran his hand through his hair. "Raven is different, that is for sure. She tried to kill us tonight, and then willingly gave up the Relic. Maybe you got through to her Yang. But I wouldn't put too much hope in that. Go get some sleep, we can talk about this more in the morning." He pat my shoulder as he passed, turning the lights off in the kitchen. I stood in the darkness for a second before heading to our room. Light was shining from the crack under the closed door. I opened it, seeing Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all sitting on the floor. "Hey guys." I said tiredly. I took my jacket off and hung it from the door. I stripped off my combat shirt and shorts and put my comfy tee and gym shorts on. I sat on the floor, joining the rest of my team. "So, what were you guys talking about?" Ruby and Weiss were holding hands and Ruby was smiling, "We were just telling Blake that we are together. I figured that since she is a part of our team she should know." I nodded, "Makes sense, at least she won't be surprised if she comes out the bathroom and sees both of you with your tongues down each other's throats." I laughed as Ruby tried to hit me.

"Guys I- …I'm sorry!" Blake's sudden outburst caught me by surprise. "I shouldn't have just left you! I should've said something. I should've stayed and been with all of you. And Yang, I can't- I just- because of me you… I'm just so sorry for everything!" She was crying, tears streaming down her face. I imagined a lot of different ways reuniting with Blake would happen, but not this. "Blake…" I wanted to reach out and comfort her, but I didn't know if that was the right move. "You got hurt because of me. You lost an arm because of me." I grabbed her head and turned her to where she was looking at me. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. That you leaving didn't bother me. It did, I nearly hated you because of it. But I didn't, and I don't. What you were most afraid of happened, and you thought it was all your fault that Beacon was attacked. But that's not true, Beacon would've been attacked regardless of where you were or what you were doing. I lost an arm, yes. But I lost an arm because I tried to save my best friend from a homicidal maniac. I lost an arm because I tried to protect the things and people I love." I wiped the tears from her face. "Quit crying, it ruins your cute face." She blushed slightly and pulled away. "Oh hey," I just noticed it while I was looking at her. "You don't wear your bow anymore!" Her ears flattened to her head and she turned away from me, causing Ruby and Weiss to laugh. "I just figured… it was time to stop hiding. I'm Blake, a proud faunus." I reached over with my left hand and felt her ear. "HEY!" She jumped back. I couldn't help it and just busted out laughing. "Aw what's wong wittle kitty, sensitive ears?" She put her hands on her head and blushed angrily. "Yes!"

A sigh drew my attention from Blake and back to Ruby and Weiss. Weiss had fallen asleep on Ruby's shoulder, her exhaustion finally beating her. "I think she's ready for bed." Ruby stood up bringing Weiss with her. I turned back to Blake. "I'll sleep on the floor if you want the bed." She shook her head, her face still flushed. "No, it's fine. We can… share." We stood up and I turned the lights off. Ruby and Weiss were already in bed as Blake and I got into ours. I pulled her close, her back pressed tightly to my chest. "Sorry," I whispered. "I like to be big spoon." She shifted slightly, finding a comfortable sleeping position. "It's fine, this is actually pretty… comforting." I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing. As I laid there I noticed that Blake's breathing had matched up with mine, her heartbeat was steady, and she laid completely still. _I wish I could fall asleep that easily._ I closed my eyes and relaxed, the warm pressure against my chest finally putting me to sleep.

"Are you happy with the answers you got?" I looked back at myself, we were back down in the Vault of the Spring Maiden. "Yes… and no. It hurt… a lot. But Mom seemed like she didn't want it to be the way it ended up either." The other me shrugged. "Well sometimes the truth isn't exactly what we hoped it would be. But hey, Blake's back. That's good right?" I nodded. "Yeah, we're all back together. But even though she apologized, it still hurts. That she would run away like she did." I looked over and the other me had my stupid grin on her face. "What?" She walked towards me. "You didn't seem so upset about it when you were flirting with her." She finished her sentence by poking me in the forehead. "You know, I really hate you." I told her. She stuck her tongue out at me. "You know as well as I do that you're lying. You love yourself… maybe not often enough though judging by your attitude." I felt my face burn up and glared at her. "I thought you told me I wasn't going to be seeing you again a while ago." She paused for a moment, "I did say that. Huh, weird. Maybe I'm just your way of dealing with things." She shrugged. "Either way I'd say it's probably morning by now. So, you know… wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. I felt a warm pressure against my chest and looked down. _Oh yeah._ Blake was curled into my chest, sleeping soundly. I noticed her faunus ears were nearly at mouth level and I smiled wickedly. I gently blew air onto the back of her ear. It twitched, and she shifted slightly. I waited a few seconds and did it again, getting the same reaction. I did it a third. "If you do that again, I will hurt you." I smiled, "Did you sleep well?" I pulled my arm out from under Blake and sat up. "As well as I could after fighting for our lives." I nodded. "So pretty good then. I'm glad you slept well." She looked at me grumpily. "I was still sleeping until you blew air on my ears." I smiled. "I couldn't help it, they just looked sooooooo cute." I used my best cutesie voice and was rewarded with an annoyed eye-roll. "You are so lucky I like you." I hugged her tightly. "Awwww you like me."

"Ahem." I looked over and Weiss was sitting on her and Ruby's bed. "What?" I questioned. "You're being weird." I looked at her and shrugged, "I am weird." I noticed someone was missing and looked around. "Where's Ruby?" The bathroom door was wide open so she wasn't showering. _Maybe she's out in the living room._ "She went for a run. Since we don't have to worry about being found out now, she decided to get a run in before everyone woke up." Weiss got out of bed and strode to the bathroom. "Please don't be doing anything indecent while I'm showering." I got out of bed and stretched, my neck and back popping. "I'm going to get some breakfast. You hungry?" Blake nodded and got out of bed. "I could eat." We went to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets. "Granola bars or cereal?" I looked over at Blake who was holding a small box of granola bars and a large box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes. "I'll take the cereal." I grabbed some bowls and spoons and set them on the counter. I grabbed the box from Blake and poured cereal into both of the bowls. Blake grabbed the milk from the fridge and poured it while I threw the now empty cereal box in the trash.

I grabbed my bowel and sat at the table. Blake sat on my left and quietly ate. I know she apologized and I accepted her apology, but it still felt like there was an air of tension between us. I scooped a spoonful of cereal into my mouth, not looking up from my bowl. "Something wrong Yang?" I scooped another spoonful and shook my head. "You know I was going to ask you the same thing." I looked up from my bowl and turned to her, her eyes locked on mine. "Will we ever be able to be the same, like we were before the Fall?" I looked back down at my cereal. "Of course we can. We're still Team RWBY. We're just a little more-" "That's not what I meant." Now Blake was looking into her bowl. "I mean us, me and you. Can we ever be like we were?" _Good question Blake._ I didn't know the answer. "I don't know Blake. I forgave you for leaving, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt a lot. I don't think we can ever be like we were. But we can do better, it'll take time… time and trust, but I hope we can move past this. I… missed you a lot you know. Once I had time to think and I stopped being angry I realized I missed you a lot. Even if you were quiet, you'd listen. You believed me about Mercury during the Vytal Festival. Other than those of Ruby, Qrow, and Dad… your opinion means the most to me. Back at Beacon… that night… when I saw Adam stab you… I got so angry. I couldn't think about anything other than keeping you safe. I didn't even think about my own safety, not that I did that to begin with, but you get my point. I care about you a lot Blake… whether you feel the same or not… I… I love you." I felt the heat in my face and looked back down at my bowl, quickly spooning cereal to my mouth.

 _Yang, what the hell?_ I was mentally kicking myself as I quickly finished my cereal and drank the milk left in the bowl. I tried to get up from the table, but Blake grabbed my arm before I could leave. "Now who's running away?" She let go and I quietly sat back down while she continued to eat. "I kind of assumed that already to be honest with you. You were always flirty back at Beacon, but last night and this morning… it felt different. Like you were trying to get my attention." I looked over but she was focusing on her cereal. "It hurt to leave, you know that? It hurt a lot. It broke my heart to leave everyone… to leave you. I felt responsible for what happened. I felt like it was my fault that the White Fang attacked. That's why I left, Adam is ruthless, if I would've stayed I only would have put everyone in danger. I left so I could protect you." Blake drank the milk that was left in her bowl and set it back down on the table. "We both had reasons for what choices we made." She looked up from the empty bowl. "I want us to get back to a place where we can trust each other again. I know it's going to take time and effort, but I'm not going anywhere." Like a zombie, Jaune shuffled past the table and into the kitchen. I heard the cabinet squeak as it opened followed by Jaune. "Who ate all my MARSHMALLOW FLAKES?!" I looked at Blake who looked back at me. "Except for right now." She grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the table, leaving our bowls at the scene of the crime.

She dragged me down the hall and back to our room, quietly closing the door behind us. "Jaune sure likes his Marshmallow Flakes." Blake laughed and shook her head. "I should've thought about that before we ate it all. I remember he ate that all the time at Beacon." The door to the bedroom opened and Ruby walked in. "Did you two eat Jaune's cereal?" I looked over at Blake and then smiled at Ruby. "There's a strong possibility that we did." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Great, now _I_ need to go back to the store or he's just gonna be in a bad mood all day." The door to the bathroom opened. "Hold on, I'll go with you after I get dressed." Weiss grabbed a shirt and skirt from Ruby's clothes. "I'm going to need to borrow these. We'll need to stop somewhere so I can get some clothes too." She stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door while she put on her borrowed clothes. I looked over at my pile of clothes and the shirt and shorts I was wearing. _I could use a change of clothes too._ I grabbed my jacket off the ground and pulled my wallet out from the pocket. "Ruby," I tossed her my wallet. "I could use a change of wardrobe while you're out." Dad gave me a lot of Lien before I left in case of emergency, I felt like this was one of those occasions. Weiss stepped out of the bathroom. "That is just… scary." The red and black shirt and skirt clashed with her pure white hair, the outfit almost identical to the one Ruby was currently wearing. "Yeah I have to agree with Yang on this one." Blake added. "I think she looks adorable. And my opinion matters more than yours because I'm her girlfriend." I fake gagged at Ruby's comment, earning an eye-roll and a sigh. "We'd better get going Weiss. Jaune needs his cereal and we need to go clothes shopping." They left, leaving me and Blake in our room.

"What now?" I looked at Blake and she just shrugged. "I'm going to take a shower. You can do whatever you want." I stared at her and smirked, raising an eyebrow. She glared at me, her cheeks flushed. "Except that." She slammed the bathroom door. "Towels are in the closet!" I laid back down on the bed staring at the ceiling. I didn't know what answer to expect from Blake, and I'm not sure she even gave me one. _"We both had reasons for what choices we made."_ What did she mean. I told her I loved her, her response was that she already knew? Blake has changed, we all have… and that's okay, but it still feels like she's closed off from the rest of us. Well that's not entirely right, she opened up to Ruby and Weiss last night, she's just closed off to me. "Well she wasn't wrong," I mumbled. "It's going to take time and effort." I grabbed the blankets and curled into a ball. _At least Qrow said we're going to relax for a few days before heading to Atlas._ I threw the blankets off, frustrated and got out off bed, leaving the bedroom. _Where's Qrow?_ Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Oscar were all sitting around the kitchen table. "Have any of you seen Qrow?" Jaune looked up from the table. "I don't know Yang, have you seen the person who ate my Marshmallow Flakes!?" Ren drank from his cup without looking at Jaune. "He's been like this ever since we got up." Jaune put his head back down on the table. "Sorry Jaune. I didn't realize it was your cereal. But Ruby and Weiss went out to get more, they'll be back soon." Oscar had a similar cup to Ren's and took a sip from it. "I think he's in the living room." He placed the cup back down on the table, his movements were slow, and he winced as he moved, most likely still in pain from last night. "Thanks Oscar."

I walked down the hall, Qrow was sitting on the couch looking at his scroll. "Hey." He looked up and greeted me. "Morning Yang." I sat down on the couch next to him. "You said we'd talk in the morning, so let's talk. What do we do about Mom?" He set the scroll down on the coffee table. "It's probably not what you want to hear, but there's not a lot we can do right now. We don't know where she went." I thought about it for a second. She left through a portal while we were both down in the vault and if she didn't go back to Qrow then… "I know where she went. She left through one of her portals, and I doubt she has bonded with anyone else since she left." _She had to have went to Dad._ "Even if she did go to Tai, there's still not much we can do about it right now. We need to get the Relic moved as soon as possible. We're lucky that we have the few days to recover that we do. I know you want to do something about her, but we just can't right now Yang." Qrow's scroll started ringing. "I need to take this." He got up and grabbed his scroll, "Talk to me." He started walking towards the door. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." He hung up and pocketed the scroll. "I'll be back in a bit, let everyone else know." He opened the door and left. Whatever the call was about, it seemed important.

I sat in the living room, staring at the clock. A half hour passed before I went back to the kitchen table and joined the others. "Did you find him?" Nora asked as I sat down next to her. "Yeah, but he got a call and had to leave. He said he'll be back in a bit." I heard the front door open. "We're back!" Ruby's voice carried to the kitchen and Jaune picked his head up from the table. A few moments later Ruby and Weiss walked in with a bunch of bags. Ruby set one of the bags down in front of Jaune, to his delight. "Ruby, you're my hero." He ripped the bag apart revealing 3 large boxes of Marshmallow Flakes. "Aw yeah, that's the stuff." Jaune got up and grabbed a bowl, spoon, and milk from the kitchen. "Where's Blake?" Ruby asked as she set the rest of the bags down. "Probably still in the shower." She pushed on of the bags over to me. "Here, I got you some cool Anima clothing." I reached into the bag and pulled out a nice yellow and black sleeveless jacket, a silver tank top, and brown combat shorts that matched my boots. "Thanks, Rubes." Jaune finally looked up from his cereal at everything going on at the table. "Why's Weiss dressed like Ruby?" Weiss and Ruby set the rest of the bags aside and sat down at the table. "I needed new clothes after mine got ruined, so I borrowed Ruby's while we went shopping." I put my new clothes back in the bag and got up from the table. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Our door was closed so I knocked on it. "Blake?" "You can come in." I opened the door, Blake was drying her hair with a towel. "Ruby and Weiss are back, Qrow just went out but everyone else is at the kitchen table." I set my bag on the bed, pulling out my new clothes. "I'm going to take a shower. You should go out to the kitchen, I'm sure everyone wants to catch up." She nodded in agreement and I went into the bathroom. I started running the water and felt the temperature, it was still a comfortable warmth. I stripped down and got in the shower, the water soothing my muscles. I washed my hair and soaped up my body, the strawberry body wash leaving a sweet scent behind. The water slowly started getting cold, forcing my shower to end sooner than I would have wanted. I turned the water off and got out of the shower, water dripping all over the floor. I examined myself in the mirror, there were a few bruises from last night but nothing too bad. I grabbed a brush and slowly undid the knots in my hair. _I hope Mom is okay._ I couldn't shake those thoughts, ever since we parted ways down in the vault it's just been tearing away at me. _If she really did go to Dad, then why?_ I set the brush back down on the counter and stared into the mirror. _Why didn't she stay?_ I opened the door and peeked out, making sure no one was in the room. I stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed my new clothes from the bed. The shorts went about halfway down my thighs but were loose enough to allow for a lot of freedom of movement. The tank top fit snuggly on the upper half of my torso, leaving my midriff exposed. I grabbed the jacket and put it on, the full length of my arms shown. I finished getting dressed and went back out to the kitchen. No one was at the table anymore. "Hey, where are you guys?" "We're in the living room." It was Qrow's voice that responded.

I wandered into the living room, everyone was sitting except for Qrow. "I knew those clothes would look cool." I smiled at Ruby and leaned up against the wall. "Okay you're all here now. The police were conducting an investigation at Haven, searching through Leonardo's office and they found him." The way Qrow was talking, it wasn't a good thing. "Leo's dead. They called me when they found him. The wounds inflicted were Grimm in origin. To be one hundred percent honest with everyone… Salem killed him. Indirectly maybe, but she had Leo killed. The police are still going through his belongings, but I figured this would be a good time for you all to understand what Salem is capable of and how easy it is for her to kill one of her own. I'll still give everyone today to relax and maybe even go into Mistral, but we need to move on tomorrow. We can't stay here any longer than that, especially now that we have the Relic. I'm not trying to dampen everyone's spirits, but this is the reality of the situation. The police asked for my help going through Leo's personal files so I'm going back to Haven for now. If anything happens one of you needs to call me immediately, understood?" We all nodded. "Okay, if anyone leaves the house take someone else with you. I'll…" he sighed and grabbed for his flask. "be back later." He left again, leaving the rest of us silent in the living room.

"Well that was cheerful." I pushed away from the wall and walked back to the room, grabbing my boots and Ember Celica. I zipped up my boots and slid Ember Celica onto my wrists. I gathered up my discarded clothes from earlier and took them to the basement. I threw them all in the washer and added a bit of laundry soap and started the washer. "Oh, you're already doing laundry." Ruby was coming down the stairs with a large bundle of clothes. "Can I just throw this stuff in with yours?" I nodded and opened the washer lid. "Sure." She placed the bundle on the ground and loaded the washer piece by piece. "I'm going into the city. Can you hang my clothes up when the washer is done?" She started humming as she shut the lid of the washer. "Sure, is Blake going with you?" I shook my head. "No, I'm going alone." She turned around, crossing her arms and frowning. "Qrow said you have to go with someone if you leave the house. Take Blake with you." I looked down at the ground and frowned. "My relationship with Blake is a little… weird at the moment." I looked back up and Ruby's expression softened. "What happened?" I sighed softly. "There's just… a lot of healing and mending that still needs to be done. We talked this morning, Blake said she wanted to get back to a point where we both could trust each other again. She opened up to us last night, and she talked to me this morning, but I'm still getting the feeling that she's closed herself off from me. I think she still blames herself for this." I shook my right arm at Ruby. "I think, you'll be able to get back to that point with her Yang. It's just going to take some-" I cut her off because I knew what she was going to say. "Some time and effort right?" Ruby smiled and nodded. "Blake said the same thing." I looked at the wall behind Ruby, trying to gather my thoughts. "I know you care about her a lot, Yang. That's why you were so upset after Beacon. Just keep letting her know that you care and that you're there for her. I think she'll come around eventually." I looked back at Ruby, she had a stupidly large grin on her face. I couldn't help but smile, even with how bad I've been at controlling my emotions recently Ruby still always made me smile. "If you go into town alone, please just be careful, and- oh I almost forgot." Ruby patted herself down and fumbled with her pockets. She found what she was looking for and pulled it out. "Your wallet!" I grabbed it from her and tucked it into the inner pocket of my new jacket. "Thanks Rubes, for picking me up these new clothes… and for everything else." She smiled warmly. "It's what sisters do."

My hands were tucked in my pockets as I casually walked alongside the road into Mistral. _Ruby must've used her semblance to get her and Weiss to and from the city so fast._ I had been walking for fifteen minutes and just now was reaching the market section. There were a lot of small stores and food stalls laid out in an orderly manner along both sides of the street. I found a nice-looking tailor shop and went inside a little bell ringing as I entered. "Hello, how can I help you today?" A nice man in maybe his thirties was behind the counter at the back of the store. "Hi, do you guys do custom work?" He nodded. "Yes, we do, what were you wanting done?" I took my jacket off and flipped it over. "I'd like you to put a symbol on the back of this jacket please." He picked up my jacket and felt the material. "Do you know what you would like on the back of this?" I reached for the jacket back and he handed it to me. I grabbed my wallet from the inner pocket and handed the jacket back. I pulled out a small picture and handed it to him. It was my emblem, my burning heart. "Yes, I believe we can do that for you, it shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Would you like Dust woven into that as well?" I thought about it but I didn't really use Dust in combat, a few Dust filled shells for Ember Celica every now and then but nothing like what he was asking. "No thanks, just make it Black please." He smiled and folded the jacket before pinning the picture to it. "Will do young lady, just stop back in later and we'll have this done for you." I tucked my wallet into my shorts pocket and left the store, the sunlight warming my exposed skin.

I stood on the sidewalk and looked around, none of the other shops in the immediate area looked interesting so I moved on from this area and continued on my walk. The way everyone was going on about their day was almost unnerving, they had no idea what almost happened to their city, the destruction, death, and terror that almost became their lives… like it had mine, I was envious. I know that this is what I choose but I couldn't help but think of what it would be like right now if we were still back at Beacon, if Cinder and the White Fang never attacked and we were still going on with our day to day lives at school. I sighed. _There's no point in having those thoughts Yang. You can't change what happened._ I was right, I couldn't change what happened… but I could help make sure it didn't happen to anyone else. I looked up, just now realizing that I had been looking down and had no idea where I was. I wasn't in the market area anymore, looking around I noticed some restaurants and a movie theater. _Okay this isn't so bad I guess._ I stopped in a little ice cream shop on the corner, the little patio outside covered by a colorful awning with picnic tables underneath so people could enjoy their ice cream outside. I stood in line and looked at the list of flavors they offered. I got to the front of the line and pulled out my wallet. "What'll you have?" A lady who was wearing a uniform just as colorful as the awning outside stood behind the counter. "Can I have 3 scoops of cookie dough please? Oh, in a bowl too." She grabbed a foam bowl and placed three large scoops of ice cream on top of each other. "Would you like to add chocolate sauce or any other toppings?" She showed me all the toppings they had, and I looked over all of them. "I'll take chocolate sauce and marshmallows." She scooped some marshmallows onto the ice cream and then drizzled chocolate over all of it. She handed me the bowl and I paid for my ice cream; for as much as they gave me they didn't charge much. I went outside and sat at an empty table with my ice cream. The temperature was rising, and it was a lot warmer now then it was when I went in the shop. The shade from the awning kept me cool and my ice cream from melting, giving me time to think while I enjoyed my sugary snack. I kept thinking back to what Ruby had told me this morning. _"Just keep letting her know that you care and that you're there for her."_ It's like the beginning of Beacon all over again. When we first met she was closed off and quiet too, it took a lot for her to finally open up to everyone and now I'm right back where I started with her. _This sucks._ I spooned more ice cream into my mouth as I watched strangers go about their business. _How do I show Blake I care?_ "Can I join you?" I looked up in surprise at the voice. Blake was standing next to the table, a bowl of ice cream in her hands. "Uh, yeah sure." She sat across from me and placed her bowl on the table.

"What are you doing out here, who came with you?" Blake looked at me and rolled her eyes. "No one, and before you tell me that Qrow told us to take someone with us if we leave I'm just going to point out that you left alone and the only person who knew was Ruby." I was about to argue with her, but she was right. "Why didn't you ask me to come with you?" I shrugged. "I don't know, I just wanted some time to myself." I rested my chin on my left hand and spooned more ice cream with my right. "Yang, we're supposed to be partners. I know things are… different right now between us, but you need to tell me when you're going off alone or if something is bothering you." I smiled down at my ice cream, the irony almost making me laugh. "You know that sounds an awful lot like what we use to have to tell you, remember?" This time Blake actually did laugh, if only a little. "Yeah, I remember, when did we switch places?" I looked down at my arm, the yellow, black, and silver metal still vibrant. "Probably when Beacon fell." I spooned the last bite of ice cream into my mouth, leaving the spoon sit in the empty foam bowl. I looked up and Blake was staring at me… well more at my arm then me. "You know I don't blame you, right?" She looked up, her expression kind of sad. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault Beacon got attacked. It wasn't your fault the White Fang hurt people. It wasn't your fault I got hurt." She put her hands in her lap and looked down, her chest shaking. I knew she was trying to hold back tears, because… I do the same thing. I stood up and leaned over the table, grabbing a spoonful of her ice cream. "Blake." She looked up, tears in her eyes. The second she tried to speak I shoved the spoon of ice cream in her mouth. "Come on, don't cry." I sat back down on my side of the table. "I told you already; I don't blame you for any of this. Now finish your ice cream, there's still a lot we can do today." She wiped at her eyes and ate her ice cream. "Thank you, Yang." She took a few minutes to finish her ice cream. "Okay, I'm good now. Let's go." She grabbed both our bowls and threw them away. I got up from the table and stretched, sitting for so long made me stiff. "Where do you want to go?" Blakes asked, looking at the shops around us. I looked around too, nearly all of the shops around here sold food. There had to someplace where we could do something fun.

"I want to go somewhere fun, but it doesn't look like there are any places around here." We left the patio of the ice cream shop and went further into the city, the buildings going from a traditional style to a more metropolitan the further we went. "Do you see anything that looks interesting?" We passed by multiple buildings and shops but none of them really stood out to me. "Let's stop here." Blake grabbed my arm to stop me and I turned to look at what she found, we were right outside a bookstore. "Okay, let's go in." Blake opened the door and led me in. It was a fairly large place on the inside, the far left and right walls had bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling and the store itself had three floors, with aisles and walkways running around the whole length of the store. "You know I've never been one for books, but this place is pretty cool." Blake let go of my arm and wandered off in between the book shelves. I slowly walked along the shelves, looking at the little markers at the top that said what genre I was in. _Science Fiction… Fantasy… Young Adult… Romance… Fiction… Non-Fiction… god there are a lot of books in here._ I stopped when I got to the children's books. I started looking through them carefully, Dad used to read me and Ruby stories when he had the time. I found a few that I remembered; The Boy Who Cried Beowolf, The Three Little Boarbatusks, Where the Wild Grimm Are. It was nice, remembering those times when I was young. Ruby would sit in my lap while I sat in Dad's and he'd read to us. I reached for one of the books but stopped myself. _Those days are gone, Yang._ I went up to the second floor, they had a nice little coffee shop with comfy looking chairs. I saw Blake in one of the aisles and made my way over to her. "Find anything worth reading?"She put a book she was looking at back on the shelf. "Some have sounded interesting, but nothing has stood out." The section we were in was labeled home and life. "Well there's still a third floor." She shook her head at the suggestion. "No, it's fine, we can go now." I followed her down the stairs and we started heading towards the door. "Wait, hold on." I stopped Blake and veered off to the right. Tucked in the corner was a small section of comic books. "I didn't take you for a comic book person Yang." I rolled my eyes and kept looking through them. "I'm not, but Ruby is." I picked a few from the shelf and took them to the counter. I paid for the comics and looked in my wallet, I still had money left but I was running low. "Have a nice day." I smiled at the shop clerk and we left the book store, the bag of comics hanging from my wrist.

"Are you ready to go back?" I looked around, the stores around here didn't seem that interesting to me and I really didn't want to go further into the city. "Yeah, let's go back. Oh, we're going to need to stop at a tailor shop on our way back too." Blake gave me a questioning look. "In case you didn't notice, I don't have my new jacket with me right now. I need to pick it up on our way back." We started walking back the way we came; the afternoon brought a lot of foot traffic with it and the sidewalks and streets were more crowded now then they were when I was out alone. We slowly made our way through the crowds, doing our best to stay close to each other so we wouldn't get separated. "Why are there suddenly so many people out?" I wasn't really expecting a response, but Blake answered. "It's probably lunch time. Everyone's out taking their lunch break or coming back from it." It made sense, a lot of the restaurants looked fuller and I had left on my walk before noon. "Now I really want to get back." I grabbed Blake's hand and sped up our pace, leading her through the crowds. "Yang, slow down, we're not in that big of a hurry." I found a break in the crowd and stopped, giving me time to steady my breathing. "Sorry, I just want to get back." We weren't back at the market area yet, but I was pretty sure we were close. "You sure, because your breathing was kind of erratic for a second." I looked around for something familiar but didn't see anything right away. "Yeah, I'm fine." We started walking again and stopped once we reached an intersection. "Which way is this shop?" I looked down the street to my right and saw the sign for the tailors. "There it is."

I held the door open for Blake and then stepped inside, the little bell ringing as the door opened and closed. No one was manning the counter, but a voice came from a doorway on the other side. "Be with you in a second." I stood at the counter with Blake, struggling to not ring the bell that was sitting there. _"Ring for assistance."_ A few seconds later the man from earlier emerged from the door way, my jacket draped over his arm. "Hey, hey, hey, perfect timing. One of my guys finished up your design a few minutes ago." He set the jacket on the counter, back facing up to show off the work. The emblem was identical to the photo I had given him and was placed dead center, the design taking up a lot of the previously blank fabric. "Wow, it looks great, thanks!" He smiled at me and Blake. "No problem, let's just ring you up and you'll be good to go." I pulled out my wallet and gave the guy a pained smile as I handed him nearly all of the Lien I had left. He handed me my jacket and the picture I gave him for reference, I tucked the picture into my wallet and put my jacket on. "If you need anymore work done, feel free to come back." I waved to him as we left. "Will do, have a nice day!" I sighed in relief once we got outside. "Finally, now we can go back." Blake was standing next to me, her eyes scanning up and down. "That's not a bad look for you, you know." I poked her the side playfully. "Yeah and your new look isn't that bad either, and I have to say I'm warming up to the whole no bow thing." Her ears pressed flat against her head. "Quit staring at them, it's weird." I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Whatever, let's just get back to the house, my feet are starting to hurt." This time Blake grabbed my hand, surprising me, and we walked back together.


	18. Unexpected Complications

"We're back!" I threw the door open and stepped inside dramatically, no one was in the living room. "So much for your grand entrance." I shrugged and took my jacket off. "Eh I tried. Maybe they're out back." I set Ruby's comics on the coffee table and walked over to the window, looking out at the backyard. "Yeah, they're out back." I turned away from the window and took my boots off. "I need to relax for a while, my feet are killing me." I turned on the radio and stretched out on the couch. "I'm going to go out and join the others, do you need anything?" I shook my head and relaxed into the couch. "No, I'm good, thanks though." Blake opened the door and stopped, she turned back and looked at me for a moment. I smiled and gave her a thumb up. She smiled back and went outside, the sound of the music on the radio drowning out the door closing. I closed my eyes and listened to the music, the rhythm and beat pushing me closer and closer to sleep. I noticed my breathing become slow and even and my thoughts slowed to a crawl. _I guess a nap wouldn't hurt._

"Girl's, breakfast is ready!" Dad's voice echoed through the house, pulling me from my sleep. "Wha?" I pushed myself into a sitting position, disturbing the sleeping lump next to me. "Could you not shake the whole bed when you move?" I got out of bed and stretched, my joints cracking and popping, relieving the pressure in my body. "You didn't have a problem with me shaking the bed last night." A pillow hit me in the back off the head. "I love you too Blake." I yawned and went down stairs, the news was on TV and the focus was still on us, weeks after we stopped Salem. "And while rebuilding will take some time, we have that group of young Huntsmen and Huntresses to thank for putting a stop to what surely would have been a worldwide disaster. Back to you Jet." They had put up a large group picture of us; Team RWBY, Team SSSN, Jaune, Nora, and Ren, and all the other teams and friends we had made along the way. I walked into the kitchen and sat at the table with Ruby and Weiss, both who looked like they just woke up too. "Good morning Ruby, Weiss." Weiss tiredly nodded and Ruby smiled. "Morning Yang, where's Blake?" I pointed above us. "She's probably still lying in bed, she wasn't too happy when I accidentally woke her up." Dad laughed as he brought the food over to the table. "Well she better get up soon or she's gonna miss out." There was a knock on the door and Zwei started barking. "That's probably… her." Dad's voice changed slightly. "I'll get the door; you girl's go ahead and eat." I grabbed some pancakes and eggs and put them on my plate, Zwei's barking had stopped and I heard the front door close. I could hear two sets of footsteps coming back towards the kitchen. "Who was it?" Dad passed by the table, not saying anything. "Yang?" At the sound of the voice I set my fork down and turned around in my chair. Mom was standing in the doorway between the living room and kitchen. "Mom." There was a brief moment of silence in the house before the sound of Blake coming down the stairs filled the void. "I was… hoping we could talk." Blake appeared in the doorway behind Mom and slipped right past her. "Sure."

My eyes opened, the sound of quiet music filled my ears. I was lying on the couch in the house in Mistral. _I was dreaming._ I didn't know how long I had been asleep. I felt my legs shift and looked down towards the end of the couch. Blake was reading, my legs resting on her lap. I pulled my legs away slowly and sat up, doing my best to not disturb her reading. "You're awake." I nodded and stifled a yawn. "Yeah, it was a pretty nice nap. How long was I asleep?" Blake checked her scroll. "About an hour or so, not too long." I looked around, no one else was in the living room and the comics I got for Ruby were no longer on the coffee table. "Where is everyone?" I got up from the couch and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. "They're still outside, they've been testing Jaune's Semblance. He uses his aura to enhance someone else's, speeding up healing or empowering their own Semblance." I knew that Jaune was the one who healed Weiss, but his Semblance sounds amazing. "What do you mean power up their Semblance?" Blake closed her book and set it down, giving me her full attention. "With Jaune's help Weiss could bring out any of her summons nearly instantly and they are also stronger. Ruby's speed increases even more, she hardly leaves a red streak that you can follow with your eyes, and I can create multiple shadow doubles at a time. We're not sure how it affects Nora or Ren yet because their Semblances require external factors to test. And Oscar still hasn't discovered his Semblance so he's just observing." All the talk of Semblances reminded me of my other Blake, my friend I had made when I was traveling through Anima. She couldn't really control hers, it just was always active. It kind of made me sad, I missed her, she was a really good friend for the few short hours that I was with her. "What's wrong Yang?"

I shook my head and smiled. "Nothing, I just remembered a friend that I had made here on Anima. Her name was Blake too." It was faint, but I noticed Blake's face turn to a frown for a split second. "I saved her town from an attack by two Ursa. They thanked me by putting together a party and a small feast. Her dad is one of the people on the council who runs the town. They put me up for the night and she talked to me and we played video games." There it was again, a faint frown but it was gone just as fast as it happened. I smiled and tried to push the subject. "Are you jealous perhaps?" Her ears pressed against her head and she turned away slightly. "What? You're crazy, what do I have to be jealous of?" I giggled and poked her ears. "You know… ever since you stopped wearing your bow, your ears react whenever you're happy, sad, mad, lying … or embarrassed." She turned further away from me and didn't say anything. I grabbed her and pulled her close to me, earning a displeased grumble from her. "Oh, come on, I won't tell anyone that you like me." She grumbled again. "That's not exactly what the problem is Yang." I turned her so she was facing me, she had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on them. "Then what is the problem Blake?" She looked at me for a few seconds before answering. "The last time I opened up to someone, the last time I cared for someone as more than just a friend… that someone became a monster, a person fueled by so much hate and spite that they were no longer the person I thought they were." So that was it, she was closed off from me because she was afraid of her own feelings because of Adam. "I'm not Adam, I'm nothing like him. I don't fight for my own self-interest, I fight to protect my loved ones. I've been hurt by loved ones too you know. I told you back at Beacon how my mom left shortly after I was born. How Summer went out on a mission and never made it back. How Dad shut down for a while, leaving me to take care of Ruby. Not to mention the encounter I had with my mom last night. The answers I got from her hurt a lot… but I haven't given up hope that she'll come back. You shouldn't give up hope either. I know it's scary, falling in love is terrifying… but it's worth it…" I trailed off, wanting her to respond. She looked at me, her expression unreadable. "How would you know? How would you know what falling in love feels like.?" I smiled at her question, one that I actually had an answer too. "Because I've dealt with the feelings of falling in love with you since I left home looking for Ruby." Blake dropped her legs to the floor, giving up her defensive posture. "I have a lot of baggage. A lot of things I'm not proud of. And a lot of trust issues." I grabbed her hands and held them. "You're not the only one with baggage. You're not the only one with trust issues. But we can take it all on together. We can be there for one another, help each other grow, help each other with our problems. We don't have to struggle alone." I gently wrapped my arms around Blake and pulled her into a tight hug. A few seconds later I felt her arms wrap around me, returning the hug I gave her.

"There's still a lot I need to make up for… to you most of all." I broke the hug, but she still held to me tightly. "Well, now that you're back you have plenty of time. You told me you're not going anywhere, I'm holding you to that." She finally let go, but she kept her head resting against my chest. I heard the back door open followed by everyone's voices. Blake pulled her head away and I stood up, popping my shoulders and neck. I went to the kitchen to grab a granola bar, Ruby entered a few seconds after. "Oh Yang, you're awake." I unwrapped my granola bar while Ruby got a glass of water. "Yeah, I just got really tired after I got back. I bought you some comics but I'm not sure where they're at." I took a bite and threw the wrapper away. "They're in our room. I came in earlier and put them on my bed." She set the empty glass down on the counter but didn't leave, instead she looked at me concerned. "Yang, do you want to talk about anything." I was confused, I didn't know what she was talking about. "What do you mean?" I leaned against the counter, waiting for an answer. "I mean… the whole thing with Raven. I know that you were with her before you and Weiss showed up here. And everything that happened last night… are you okay?" I mulled it over. "Honestly Ruby, no, I'm not. But I got some answers that I've been wanting, even if they hurt. But Mom and I both made our choices, and I'm going to stick to mine." I held out my fist and Ruby bumped hers against mine. "I appreciate you looking out for me. If I ever need to talk, we'll talk, okay?" She nodded. "Thank you for the comics by the way." I smiled and shrugged. "I figured you needed something to clear your mind and help you relax." _You need to relax more than she does._ I stifled the thought, but I was right. I didn't really feel relaxed, I felt trapped, like I needed to be doing something. I was still on guard, still waiting for something to happen even though we were safe… for now.

"Ruby?" She stopped just short of the living room and turned around. "Do you feel on edge? Like something bad is just around the corner?" She paused for a moment and then slowly nodded. "Yeah, I do. We may have won last night but it's not over. We just need to focus on getting the Relic somewhere safe, then we can figure out what to do next." We locked gazes for a moment, in Ruby's silver eyes I could see purity… purity and hope. What did she see in my eyes? What did I convey to the rest of the group when they looked at me? "Ruby, Yang, we're gonna play cards. Are you guys in?" Jaune appeared in the kitchen behind Ruby, a deck of playing cards in his hand. I looked into Jaune's eyes. In his I could see courage and compassion. "Sure, I'm game. What about you Ruby?" She shook her head. "I'm gonna read some of my comics that you got me." I didn't know what they saw when they looked at me. I've changed so much in the past few months that I hardly recognized the old me anymore, so what can everyone else see that I can't? "Yang, are you coming?" I looked up, I was the only one left in the kitchen. "Yeah, just a second." Maybe that was part of the reason I felt trapped, I hardly knew who I was anymore. Everything that I've done since I left home until right now has been for the sake of others. I left looking for Ruby so I could be there for her and so I could help ease Dad's worry. I stayed and fought to protect everyone here. I opened up to Blake and accepted her back to Team RWBY because she needed to know that we all still cared about her and that she was accepted. I haven't done anything for myself, but maybe it was time that I did. I joined the others in the living room and sat across from Jaune as he shuffled the deck. "Okay, let's get this started." He dealt out cards to me, Nora, Weiss, Oscar, and himself. After he dealt out cards he slid a stack of chips to each of us. _I need to start doing things because they're good for me, not because they're good for someone else._

Jaune flipped the first three cards, our antes already put up. _Six of Clubs, Four of Hearts, Eight of Spades, no help there._ Nora, Oscar, and Weiss were just spectators now, Jaune and I had cleaned them out and I was currently ahead of Jaune. I looked at my two cards again, the Kings of Spades and Diamonds. Jaune slid a stack of chips to add to his pile. "Call." I matched him, and he flipped the next card. _King of Clubs. Do I wager or pass and let him bet first?_ I knocked my knuckle to the floor signaling my check, Jaune followed suit. He flipped the last card, the King of Hearts. _I've won, but I can't let him know._ I checked again, but Jaune slid all his chips into the middle. With a smirk on his face he said it, "All in." I did my best to hide my smile and counted out how much Jaune threw in so I could match it. "Call." Jaune flipped his hand revealing two Aces. "Two pair; Aces and Kings." I flipped my hand, reveling in the look of shock on his face. "Full House." I grabbed all the chips and pulled them in front of me as Jaune, upset, fell backwards. "Aw man, I never win." I started sorting the chips out by color and Nora collected all the cards. I handed Jaune the sorted stacks of chips. "Technically you beat Nora, Weiss, and Oscar so you did win… kind of." I put the chips and cards back in their case and closed it, handing it back to Jaune. "Yeah I guess you're right." I laid back, looking up at the ceiling. The front door opened and Qrow walked in, his expression tired and posture exhausted. "Hey, everyone."

He closed the door and slowly walked over to the empty chair. He sat in the chair and pulled out his flask taking a long drink. "Everything okay Qrow?" I asked, rolling into a sitting position. "It was just… a long day. All his personal files in the system were wiped clean so we had to look for anything physical that he kept close. We found his journal but that wasn't much help." He took another drink before putting the flask away. "So, we have no leads then?" Ren asked. "No, Salem made sure her tracks were covered. We have nothing to help us find Salem. But we do know where we're headed. Oz told Oscar that we needed to get the Relic to Atlas so that's what we're going to do." I looked over at Weiss, a worried expression on her face. Why wouldn't she be worried, she ran away from Atlas not long ago and now she has to go back. "How are we getting there?" I looked at Ruby who was waiting on an answer, she wasn't wrong to ask, travel between kingdoms has been iffy since Beacon. "Preferably we would be taking an airship, but that means that Atlas would know we were coming. I'm not too keen on letting anyone know what we're doing right now. So we'll be taking a ship, it'll take a little longer but they won't know we're coming." Oh great another long trip across the ocean. "Make sure you all get plenty of sleep tonight, we'll be leaving early in the morning. But in the meantime, who's cooking dinner tonight? I'm hungry." I opted out. "I cooked breakfast yesterday, it's someone else's turn." Oscar got up and headed for the kitchen, "I'll cook tonight." Blake and Weiss got up and joined him. "We'll help just let us know what you want to make." Weiss folded her ponytail up into a bun. "Yes, fighting isn't the only thing I learned when growing up. I consider myself to be well versed in the culinary arts." Ruby laughed causing Weiss to frown. "Ha, you sound so proper, that's adorable." She rolled her eyes at Ruby and folded her sleeves, "Don't be a pest or I won't make you any dessert." Ruby apologized and shrank into the couch. "I'm sorry, please make me dessert." She flashed her best puppy dog eyes and Weiss sighed, trying to hide a smile. "Hey, are you two going to help or…?" Oscar was standing in the kitchen looking at Weiss and Blake who had yet to join him. Blake grabbed Weiss by the arm and drug her into the kitchen. "Yeah we're helping." I looked over at Ruby and gave her a look that said 'Really?' "Why do you antagonize her?" She gave me a defensive expression. "I don't antagonize her, I just tease her a bit, what's wrong with that?" I shook my head and stood up. "Come outside for a minute." She followed me and we stepped outback so no one else could hear us.

"What is it Yang? I mean yeah I tease Weiss but it's not that big of a deal." I held a finger up to stop her. "Do you remember what Weiss told everyone when we were catching up after her and I got here?" I could see it on her face as she struggled to remember. "Something about ruining a party?" I shook my head. "Not that. She told us all that she ran away from home… from Atlas." Ruby nodded slowly. "Yeah…" She couldn't follow along with what I was trying to say. "She ran away, leaving her home and most likely making her dad furious. And now she has to go back and run the risk of her dad finding her. What do you think will happen if he finds out?" She was starting to get the picture as a look of concern washed over her. "He'll try to take her away from us." I nodded. "I saw her face when Qrow said we needed to go to Atlas, she looked worried. Right now she doesn't need a girlfriend who teases her and makes her smile or laugh. She needs one who will comfort her, one who will take this situation seriously. You both are incredibly happy together, I can tell. I just don't want that ruined for either of you. You understand what I'm saying right?" She nodded, "Yeah I get it, I need to talk to her and let her know that everything will be fine. Communication is key right?" I tapped her on the forehead. "You got it sis." She reached for the door and looked back. "I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer. I'll be in in a few." She nodded and went inside, leaving me alone out here with the wind and the birds. I strolled over to the tree sat near the base, folding my legs and leaving my arms rest in my lap. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, like Ren had taught me. I sat and a kept a steady breathing until there was nothing left in my mind. Slowly, just like last time, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake took shape, smiling warmly and holding their arms open wide, like they were waiting for me. I felt myself smile, Team RWBY, my family, my friends… that's who I was fighting for. But just because I was fighting for them didn't mean I wasn't doing this for myself. _I'm fighting to protect them because I can't imagine life without them and I don't want to have to figure out what that's like… I need them, and I probably always will._ I took one last long deep breath and exhaled slowly. I stood up and looked out at Mistral, the sun hanging just above the horizon. _Today's been a rough day for everyone._

"Dinner's ready everyone." I got off the couch and joined everyone at the kitchen table. Qrow wandered in and sat at the far end of the table. "Smells good kid, what'd you make for us?" Oscar set a large bowl down on the table and Blake brought in a smaller bowl filled with salad. "Chicken and pasta, topped with a cheesy garlic sauce. My aunt made this all the time back on the farm and I loved it. I grabbed the bowl and scooped some pasta onto my plate, the smell of the garlic was light, but when I took a bite the taste was strong but not overpowering. "I made the sauce." Weiss stated as she brought out a large tray of brownies. "The cheese mellows out the smell of garlic, it also cuts the taste back a bit so it's not too overpowering. A trick one of my family's cooks taught me." Ruby went straight for the brownies, but Weiss smacked her hand away. "Heeeeeey." Weiss moved the tray further away from Ruby so it was out of her reach. "Eat a real dinner first, then you can have some brownies." Blake took a seat next to me and scooped some pasta onto her plate. No one was talking, just the sounds of forks scraping along plates as we ate in near silence. "So, what happens when we get to Atlas? I mean do we even have a plan?" Jaune broke the silence, directing his question at Qrow. "Unfortunately, we have to contact Ironwood. He was part of Oz's inner circle, and no matter how much I don't like him… he's trustworthy." I quietly ate dinner and listened to the conversation. "Once we talk with Ironwood we'll work together to figure out our next move." Dad had told me Ironwood was the one who had my arm made for me, and from what Weiss had mentioned about her time in Atlas he was someone we could trust… and recently that was something hard to come by. "Let's not worry about that right now though. I know you all want to fight, and you've more than proven yourselves capable, but enjoy right now, the times when you're not fighting. You never know how many moments like these are left."

I got what he was trying to say, but the way Qrow said made it stick in my mind. _Have I told everyone everything I want to say?_ I did my best to ignore it and just ate dinner. _I can talk to everyone later._ A sharp pain shot through my head, making me recoil. "Yang, are you okay?" Blake was holding my hand as my vision slowly came back into focus. "Yeah, just a headache." The pain persisted making me feel sick, "I… need to lie down." I got up from the table and left the dining room, stumbling down the hallway. I opened the door to our room and fell inside, my vision fading to black.

My body was heavy. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, I couldn't talk. I was just laying there on the floor. "Yang are you doing alri-" I felt a weight drop down next to me and lift me up, "Yang. Yang! Yang, come on say something!" It was Blakes voice, it was panicked and uneven. "RUBY!" She was shouting, her voice almost breaking. I heard fast footsteps run down the hall. "What's wrong?" Her footsteps stopped short. "Yang! Blake what's wrong with her?" I felt a cool hand press against my forehead. "I don't know but she's burning up." I heard more footsteps come down the hall. "What's going on?" It was Qrow's voice. "Yang, won't wake up. She's got a bad fever too." I felt myself being picked up off the floor and a few seconds later I was gently placed on one of the beds. "I'll make some medicinal tea. Ruby run into town and see if you can get some medicine, anything that can reduce a fever. Jaune, see if you can boost her aura. Everyone else can help by just taking a step back." That was Ren's voice. I heard quick shuffling of feet as everyone moved. Someone sat down next to me on the bed. "Please wake up Yang, I love you." I could barely hear Blake as she spoke, her voice full of sadness. It may not have been a lot, but it was enough to get her point across, and if I could've I would've responded with my own 'I love you.' "Please be okay." I could hear her heart breaking… right along with mine.


	19. Love and Defiance

My body ached as I slowly woke up. I opened my eyes and could barely see it was so dark. I tried to lift my head but barely moved before my strength gave out and I slumped back down. A shift beneath me made me realize my head wasn't resting on a pillow. "Yang?" I opened my mouth to speak but my voice was raspy and weak. "Blake?" My mouth was dry, and my throat felt like it was on fire. "Water." I managed to get out. "Sure, one minute." She gently lifted my head so she could get out of the bed and left the room. I turned my head as much as I could and looked over at the other bed, it was empty. Blake came back with a glass. "I brought you some water." I tried to lift my arm, but I couldn't. "Here let me help." She sat next to me and lifted my head up, bringing the glass to my lips. I drank the whole glass, the cool water soothing my throat. "Where's Ruby?" Blake set the glass on the nightstand and got back into bed, putting my head in her lap. "She's sleeping out in the living room with Weiss." Blake slowly started running her fingers through my hair. "What happened?" My voice was still weak, but it didn't hurt to talk anymore. "I came to check on you after dinner and you were laying on the floor, unresponsive. You had a really bad fever and you weren't waking up. Ruby ran into town to get medicine, Jaune used his semblance to try to help you get better, and Ren made some medicinal tea that we managed to get you to drink." I did my best to push myself up, so I could lean against Blake. "Sorry for making you worry. But at least something good came out of this." Blake placed her left arm around me and continued to play with my hair. "What would that be?" I smiled and closed my eyes. "You admitted you loved me. I love you too Blake." I relaxed into Blake's chest and fell asleep.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I was standing out on the back porch with Mom, everyone else was still inside eating breakfast. "I wanted to apologize… for more than one reason." I stood facing her, waiting to hear what she had to say. "You were right, about a lot of things… mainly about me. I was scared to face Salem. I was scared of confrontation. I was scared to be a mother, and I'm sorry. I was never around when you needed me, when you needed a mother, and I'm sorry. You and your friends proved that we can be stronger together. I want to be a part of your life. I know that it will take time to repair our relationship, but I hope you can forgive me enough to let me have a chance." She held her hand out, hoping I would take it. I stepped past her hand and gently wrapped my arms around her. "I've been waiting for you to come back." I let go of her and turned towards the back door. "You wanna join us for breakfast, I'm sure Dad can make a little more." She nodded and smiled at me. "Sure, that sounds fine."

I groaned as I woke up, my body still aching but not as bad as last night. I felt Blake's chest rising and falling against my back, her light breathing telling me she was still asleep. Her left arm was wrapped around me and her hand was… on my boob. "Blake." She didn't move or respond. I lightly poked at her side. "Blake, wake up." She shifted and exhaled deeply. "What?" She asked sleepily. "Are you comfortable?" I asked her, waiting to see if she'd figure it out. "Yes, I'm comfortable, why?" I poked at her hand. "You're kind of feeling me up." The scene played out like a comedy. I felt her squeeze my boob twice and then when she figured out where her hand was she quickly let go and pulled her arms back. "Uh…" I tried to laugh but started coughing. "Are you okay?" I finished coughing and took a deep breath. "Yeah, laughing is just a little hard." I sat up and got off the bed, stumbling a little bit.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Blake got up and stood next to me. "Do you want to get some breakfast?" I nodded and she placed my arm over her shoulder to balance me. "I told you I'm fine." She shook her head. "I don't care, you're still sick so until you get better I'll take care of you." I reached over and squeezed her breast, causing her to yelp. She let go of me and I slipped out from under her grasp. "Yang, what the hell!?" I smiled at her from the doorway. "I told you I'm fine, and now we're even." I used the wall for balance and made my way to the kitchen. "I thought you didn't need help?" I looked back at Blake who was smirking at me. "I don't need help, I'm fine." I continued down the hall as Blake walked slowly beside me. "Says the girl leaning against the wall for help." I glared at her as she smiled sweetly at me. "Keep it up, see what that gets you." I warned. We made it to the dining room and I sat down at the table. "Good morning Yang, how are you feeling?" Ren brought a cup out and set it in front of me. "I feel like hell. What is this stuff?" I lifted the cup up and smelled it, which was a mistake. I recoiled at the stench. "It's medicinal tea. You need to drink it, the medicine that Ruby got is mixed in." I tried to ignore the smell and took a sip. It felt thick as I drank it, like I was drinking mud. "I know it tastes bad but it's good for you." I grimaced and choked down the rest of the tea.

"Yang!" Ruby nearly tackled me over as she came running into the dining room. Weiss and Blake pulled her off me. "Ruby, she's probably still sick. Give your sister some space." Ruby turned on Weiss. "I'm just worried about her." Ren brought out a plate of toast and eggs. "Here, you're probably hungry." I grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite. "So how do you feel?" Ruby sat on my left as I ate my breakfast. "I still feel like hell, I ache, my muscles are sore… but I can move on my own now." I munched on my toast as Ruby lightly poked me. "Ruby quit bothering her, she's trying to eat." Weiss grabbed Ruby and pulled her away from the table, ignoring Ruby's protest. "But Weiss, I just-" "No Ruby, we're letting her eat in peace." I smiled as Ruby's whining faded away. "You're still sore?" I answered Blake with a nod. "It feels like I worked out my entire body yesterday, like some of my muscles are tight and the others are just sore." I winced as Blake placed her hands on my shoulders, slowly applying pressure. She gently started to rub my shoulders and neck. "Does that feel any better?" I nodded as the pain slowly faded away, the localized pressure from her fingers working to relieve the tension in my muscles felt amazing. "Where's Qrow?" I just noticed I hadn't seen him yet. "Your uncle went out to take care of last minute preparations for our trip. He should be back soon." Ren set another cup in front me as he answered my question. "Don't worry, this one is normal tea."

I sat quietly and ate my breakfast, wincing now and again as Blake found a particularly sore spot. "Blake, are you okay with us going to Atlas?" She stopped, her hands resting on my shoulders. "Why do you ask?" I sipped from my tea, trying to figure out how to explain my question. "I feel like Atlas won't be the most welcoming to… Faunus. I know Weiss is scared to go back, she ran away from home, and I'm sure as soon as her dad finds out that we're there he'll try to find us." Her hands left my shoulders and she sat down next to me. "I've dealt with a lot worse than some racist jerk-wad with money. And I'll have you, so what do I have to be afraid of?" She grabbed my hand and smiled at me. "You have me and Ruby as well, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let my father mistreat my friends." Weiss and Ruby came back in and sat with us. "Weiss is right, we're a team, and we always will be. We look out for one another, and we always have each other's backs no matter what."

"Okay people we gotta be down to the port in thirty minutes with all our crap or we're getting left behind." Qrow shouted as he walked into the kitchen. " Oh, Yang, I'm glad to see you awake, you had us all worried there for a minute kiddo. I know you're probably not feeling one hundred percent but we really need to get moving. Once we get on the ship you can rest as much as you want, okay?" I nodded and got up slowly, my body still not at full strength. "I'm gonna need to pack all my stuff, I'll be ready in a few minutes." Blake followed slowly behind me as I made my way back down the hallway and to our room. "You're just gonna act like my shadow until I'm better aren't you?" I asked. "It's funny really, you were trying so hard to get my attention yesterday and now you don't want it." I rolled my eyes and pushed the door open to the bedroom. "I hate being sick Blake, I don't like having to be taken care of. It makes me feel weak… and useless" I grabbed my travel bag and started shoving clothes in it before Blake took it away from me. "You're not going to fit everything in the bag if just shove it all in." She took everything out and started folding it before placing it in the bag. "Ugh, what are you, my mother?" She laughed and continued packing my clothes. "Please you should see how my mom acts, I'm nowhere near as motherly as her." She handed me my new clothes that Ruby got me. "Get dressed." I stared her right in the eyes as I took my t-shirt and gym shorts off and put my actual clothes on. "It'll take a little more than a half-assed strip tease to get me excited." She smirked as I threw the shirt and shorts at her. "Are you done packing?" She pulled the cords tight, closing the bag, and handed me the bag. "Yes, I am." I slung it over my shoulder and we checked the room one last time for anything that we may have missed. "Are you ready?" She asked. I nodded, "Yeah, let's get going."

"Does everyone have everything, because once we leave we're not coming back." We were all standing outside as Qrow closed the door behind him. "Are you sure you should be hanging that from your belt?" Ruby asked, pointing to the Relic at his waist. "Nobody but us knows what this is, and I doubt any stranger would be dumb enough to try taking this from someone like me." We set off down the road, Blake holding onto my hand and walking close to me. "So Qrow, how long will it take us to get to Atlas?" Jaune was walking alongside Qrow, who was leading us down to the port. "A couple days, maybe a week but not likely. I got us a private ship so the only stop is where we're getting off." I looked back at Ren and Nora, and Weiss and Ruby. Nora was talking to Ren as he smiled at occasionally nodded, and Ruby was holding Weiss' hand, or maybe Weiss was holding Ruby's hand to keep her from pulling away from the group to go browse the market. "Isn't Atlas supposed to be really cold?" Ruby questioned. "Yes, but around this time of year it will be a little warmer. And I'm sure General Ironwood will be able to supply us with whatever we need." Weiss answered. "Hey Schnee, what happened to Ironwood after the Vytal festival?" Qrow glanced back at Weiss waiting for an answer. "I'm not really sure. I only saw him occasionally when he came to visit Father. But from the small bits of conversation I caught, the Fall of Beacon has taken its toll, on him and public opinion. I don't know if any of you have noticed but the rest of the Remnant really doesn't trust Atlas right now, and who could blame them. People saw what the saw and came to their own conclusions, and my father isn't doing anything to help this situation either. He's roadblocking Ironwood just for the sake of self-preservation." She was clearly heated about this topic, it had probably been on her mind for a while now. The rest of the walk to the port was quiet.

"Is this everyone Qrow?" A large burly man was talking with Qrow as we boarded the ship. It was a decent size that had a nice living quarters below deck and a lounge on deck. "Yeah that's all of us. Where's the rest of your crew?" He shook his head. "You told me it was important that as few people as possible knew what was happening so I didn't tell them about this." He clapped Qrow on the shoulder and directed him to the lounge. "Go relax for a bit, you'll find some of your favorites in the cabinet." The ocean was clear and I could see fish swimming below the surface. "Shouldn't you be resting?" Jaune and Oscar joined me at the railing. "Jaune's right, you were in pretty bad shape yesterday." I shrugged it off and watched one of the bigger fish chase a small one around. "I'll be fine guys, I'm starting to feel a little better." Oscar nodded and joined the others down below deck but Jaune lingered. "Yes? I told you I'm fine." He leaned against the railing. "Yeah, I know. But I'm kind of worried about Weiss and Blake." I looked over at him but now he was staring into the water. "I talked to Blake already, she's fine with going to Atlas, but I'm not so sure about Weiss. She's been acting a little more… hostile, not like towards us but you heard her talking about her dad. As long as we don't have to go to her family I think everything will be fine." Jaune looked over at me, his face blank. "I hope so. I'm sure you feel it too, but this is just the calm before the storm. And with everything that we've become a part of, it'll be a big storm." I smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood. "Hey as long as we stick together nothing will be able to stop us. We'll get the answers we're searching for and we'll give Pyrrah justice. You just have to have a little faith."

 _Like I'm one to talk, I've been doubting this since I got here._ Jaune stepped away from the railing, "Yeah, you're right Yang." He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the railing. "Come on, you really need to get some rest." I tried protesting but he kept a firm grip as he led me below deck. Oscar was playing cards with Nora while Ren watched, Ruby was reading comics while Weiss styled her hair, and Blake was tucked away in the, curled up in a large chair reading a book. When Jaune finally let go of me I went over to Blake. "Feeling better?" She stood up so I could sit down. "I'm getting there, the fresh air helps, but I'm still really tired and I have a just a dull headache." I grabbed Blake and pulled her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. "Now I'm feeling better." I reclined the chair back and relaxed into it, the ship jerking slightly as it started moving. "You go ahead and read, I think I'm going to take a nap." I yawned and relaxed my grip on Blake but still kept my arms wrapped around her.

"So now what?" The living quarters were empty except for me and… me. "What do you mean 'now what?'. We're going to Atlas, we need to get the Relic somewhere safe." She rolled her eyes, "You know that's not what I was asking. You know Blake loves you, at this point it's safe to assume that she's yours." I gave myself a dead stare. "She's not 'mine', she doesn't belong to anyone but herself." I let my expression soften, "But I know what you mean." The other me sat down in the recliner and kicked back. "You know I've been thinking… I need a name." I rolled my eyes. "Your name is Yang." She held a finger up to stop me. "No, _your_ name is Yang. You are the only Yang. I think that if I were to have a name it would be Yin." She smiled at me, hoping I would get the joke. "Yin and Yang, two halves a whole, get it?" I crossed my arms and tried to ignore her. "Oh, come on that's funny. Just like Blake is your other half there." She got up and walked over to me poking me where my heart would be. "I'm your other half up here." She lightly pushed against my forehead with two fingers. "You are so annoying." She just shrugged. "I'm you, what does that tell you about yourself? Anyways, you need to get some sleep. I'll check you later."

I woke up as the ship jerked but then settled back into its gently rocking. I was still in the recliner but Blake wasn't in my lap anymore. The lights were off but I could still make out the shapes of the furniture. I got up from the recliner and headed up to the deck. The air was cool and out on the horizon the sun was just starting to peak over the edge. Qrow and his friend were in the lounge which was brightly lit. I pushed the door open and stepped inside taking a seat next to Qrow. "Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up eh?" I looked over to his friend who was behind the counter of the bar. "Strawberry Sunrise please." He looked over at Qrow who just shrugged. "Hey, she asked nicely." He went about making my drink. "My name's Yang by the way." He slid the drink in front of me. "Kadyn, nice to meet you." I took a sip, the powerful and sweet taste of strawberry making me smile. "Is everyone else still sleeping?" I nodded, "I assume so, I woke up in the recliner and didn't see anyone else." I took a drink and looked out the glass towards the sunrise. "I must've been asleep for a while. It was barely past noon when we left right?" Qrow nodded. "Yeah, but we just assumed you needed the sleep so we didn't bother you. Kaden and I have been taking shifts so that we can each get some rest. A few more days and we'll be there. So just take this time to relax, have a few drinks and kick back." As he said he got up from the bar and sat down in the corner and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. "My shift's over, I'm going to sleep."

"So, how'd Qrow get a bunch of kids roped into helping him?" I turned my attention back to Kadyn. "We didn't get roped into anything. We all chose this. Ruby, the girl who was wearing the black and red, she's my sister, and Qrow's our uncle. We all made our own decisions on what to do after Beacon fell, and it all brought us here. Weiss, the girl with the white hair, she's my sister's partner. Blake is the faunus, she's my partner. Ren is the tall guy in green with long black hair, and Nora's the girl with the hammer, they're partners. Jaune is the blonde with the hoodie, his partner… our friend Pyrrah… she's not around anymore. And Oscar is a new addition to our little family. We all made choices and we all ended up in Anima, at the same place. How do you know Qrow?" He poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat down. "Believe it or not, I'm a Huntsman… or I use to be. I met Qrow when he was out on a mission to Anima years back. His mission coincided with mine and we decided to work together. We kept in touch and helped each other out when it was needed, he's a good guy… just a bit of a bad drinking habit though." He laughed and knocked back the whiskey. "Like I'm one to talk." I took a drink and studied Kadyn, his exposed arms were littered with small and large scars and his skin was a very dark tan. Well-kept facial hair covered his chin and wrapped up the side of his face. He kept his hair tied back into a tight knot at the back of his head. On his left-hand ring finger, a well-worn ring sat neatly. The door to the lounge opened slowly and Blake sleepily walked in. "Well I'm going to head on up to the controls. Food is in the cabinet and drinks are… well everywhere." He climbed the staircase behind the bar and disappeared.

"What are you doing up so early?" Blake sat next to me and rubbed her eyes. "I came out to check on you but you weren't in the recliner and I got worried. What are you doing up so early?" I took another small drink and offered Blake one. "Drinking a Strawberry Sunrise, watching the sun rise." She took a small sip and handed the drink back. "Really? The sun's not even fully up, you're not of legal age, and you're drinking?" I shrugged, "Hey there's barely any alcohol in this, and you just took a drink too. And I feel amazing by the way, I don't think I'm sick anymore, so you don't have to worry about me." She leaned her head on my shoulder and sighed. "I'm always going to worry about you." The sun was starting shine into the lounge. "I'll always worry about you too Blake. I love you." "I love you too, Yang."

"Are you sure you don't need anything Kadyn?" We had docked and Kadyn was refueling for the return trip. "I'm good Qrow, I'm fueling up, grabbing some supplies, and I'll be headed back soon." They shook hands and we parted ways. We arrived early in the day but there was still a good distance we had to travel. "So how do we find Mr. Ironwood?" Nora asked. Qrow looked down and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know, we head to the academy I guess." I looked around, the buildings here were definitely more representative of the power and technology available. "That actually won't be an issue," Weiss intervened. "I have someone trustworthy coming to pick us up." As if on cue a long black limo came around the corner and stopped in front of us. An older, slightly overweight, balding man with brown hair and a brown moustache stepped out of the driver side. He wore black pants with a black vest and white undershirt. "Klein!" Weiss ran forward and hugged the man. "It's good to see you too Little Snowflake. I am to be assuming that these are the friends of which you spoke of?" She nodded and pulled Ruby up to him. "This is Ruby, she's my partner." Ruby just stood there awkwardly. "Uh, hi." Weiss motioned to the rest of us. "And the rest of them are my friends as well." Klein walked down towards the end of the limo and opened the door. "I have already done as you requested. Mister Ironwood will be meeting us at the manor. As will the media, I do hope you know what you're doing." Weiss smiled at him as we all climbed in. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

I sat next to Blake in the spacious back section of the limo. Everyone, save for Qrow and Weiss, was in awe, myself included. "Weiss, who is this guy?" Ruby asked. "His name's Klein. He's worked for my family for years, but he's loyal to me, not my father. I knew he'd come and get us if I had asked." Oscar was looking out the window, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to see everything he could. "Is everything okay Oscar?" Ren asked. He turned around in his seat so he was facing the rest of us. "I just… never thought I'd ever leave the farm you know. And now in the past couple of weeks I've seen more of the world then I ever thought I would." I hadn't thought about it until he said it but he was right. I'm sure none of us thought we'd see as many places as we have these past few weeks. If it wasn't for everything we had to do this would be a fun vacation. "Hold on to that feeling, because you're going to see a lot more." Weiss told us.

About two hours had passed and we were just pulling up to Weiss' home. A large crowd was gathered outside of the front gates and they had cameras and microphones. They parted for us and we pulled through but stopped right inside. Klein got out and opened the door for us. "Weiss, I believe they are waiting for you." She looked over at the crowd and then back to Klein. "And father?" Klein smiled. "Not at home." She exhaled in relief. "Good, he'll learn that he's not the only one with power." Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand and led her towards the crowd. "She'll be but a moment folks. You won't want to miss this." I watched as she stood before the cameras and microphones with Ruby right next to her as she started speaking. "As many of you know, I am Weiss Schnee, former heir to the Schnee Dust Company, and this is my Huntress partner, Ruby Rose. I asked you all here because I have somethings that I would like the world to know. My father, the current head of the Schnee Dust Company, stripped me of my right as heir and contained me to my room because I refused to be his puppet, something my brother Whitley was all too willing to do. Not only the forceful imprisonment of my person but my father has done his best to prevent General Ironwood from aiding other kingdoms during this time when we need to come together. Ever since my father took over this company, its name has done nothing but become synonymous with greed and corruption. A man who married into the Schnee name for power has nearly driven this company into the ground. But I'm here to make a promise, a promise to everyone. My father will not be the end of this company. When I assume control of the Schnee Dust Company I promise to do everything in my power to benefit the world, and not just the Schnee name. And to start as a member of the Schnee family, I extend and apology to all Faunus for the mistreatment that my family's company may have done and the harm and lives that were lost because of negligence. I know that it will be hard to build back the trust that my father has broken, but rest assured, I am not my father and I never plan to be." When she finished she pulled Ruby in close and kissed her. The final defiant act of her speech. The media people tried to ask her further questions but she quickly pulled Ruby inside the gate and urged us all to get back into the limo. "Klein will take care of them just get in."

I sat across from her as Ruby lightly punched her arm over and over. "Weiss! Why would you do that? That was embarrassing!" I laughed as she gave up and pouted into Weiss' lap. "I gotta say Weiss, I'm impressed, I didn't take you to be the rebellious type." She smirked at me and leaned back into the seat. "He's had it coming." "I think you've already made a pretty good start." Blake added. "It may not be worth much now. But with the difference that my family and I made on Menagerie, and with what you just did right there, I think we can really make a difference." Klein's voice carried back to us. "I do believe your father will be quite furious, it should make for a great show this evening." We all laughed as Klein drove us to the front door of the mansion. Once again, he opened the door for us and we stepped out and stood in front of the large and intimidating doors. Klein stopped Ruby and gave her a small hug. "I had a good feeling about you miss Rose. I do hope you'll make Weiss happy." "Klein!" He let go of Ruby and quickly made his way to the door. "Yes Weiss." He pushed the doors open and we stepped into the large elegant foyer. At the far end a small boy was coming down the grand staircase. As he got closer I realized he must be Weiss' brother.

"What were you think-" Weiss cut him off and pointed Myrtenaster at his throat. "You will not speak to me or my guests until Father gets home. Am I clear?" He swallowed hard and glanced around at us. He backed away slowly. "Your little stunt only proved that Father was right to make me heir." He turned and headed back towards the stairs. "We shall see Whitley." Klein stepped in front of us. "I went ahead and had the rest of the help prepare the guest rooms per your request and they have started preparing a meal for dinner. Mister Ironwood is in the boardroom and I have requested that you all not be disturbed until after you are done speaking. If you would leave your luggage here, I will have it taken to the guest rooms." He bowed as Weiss led us from the hall. "Thank you Klein, you've been a great help." We walked down a long hallway until we came to a large wooden door at the end. Weiss opened it revealing a large table in the middle of the room and a fireplace at the far end. The walls were lined with pictures, books, and powered down screens. Ironwood was sitting at the table and stood up when we entered. "I had a feeling that when I saw Ruby with you, that the rest of them would be here too." His expression softened, and you could see that he looked physically worn down. Stress lines covered his face, he had barely noticeable circles under his eyes, and his facial hair replaced what was his common clean-shaven face. "It's good to see all of you."

Qrow walked up to the table and unclipped the Relic from his belt and placed it on the table. The metal never touched and the lantern like object floated an inch from the wood. "Why is the Relic not in the vault Qrow?" His expression became serious again. "Leo betrayed us James. He sided with Salem to protect his own skin. He was going to just give her the Relic had we not intervened. And now he's dead. And before you ask, no we didn't kill him. But I'll give you one guess as to who did." Ironwood walked closer and looked at the Relic before back at Qrow and the rest of us. "And why did you bring it here?" Qrow grabbed the Relic and hooked it back to his belt. "Because Ozpin told us too. Oscar." Oscar stepped forward and showed Ironwood the cane. "Oz has latched onto Oscar here." Oscar put the cane back on his belt. "He's still not strong enough to take control again. That fight took a lot out of him but he told me to tell Qrow to get the Relic to Atlas." The rest of us stood back as Qrow and Ironwood talked. "Look James, Oz hasn't told us anything yet and we don't know what to do. We have one Relic and Oz told us that his protection over the one at Beacon is keeping it from Salem's hands… for now. It's only a matter of time before they come for the one here and in Vacuo. I know you and I aren't the best of friends but we need to work together." Ironwood rubbed his temples. "If it were that easy I would've been helping from the start. I've been met with roadblock after roadblock since the fall of Beacon. The people don't trust the military, they don't trust me." Qrow pointed at us. "Then let the kids help. They were there when Beacon fell. If these kids trust you then others can be persuaded to trust you too. We know that Vale will come together when the time comes, Mistral too. But we still need Atlas and Vacuo." Ironwood sighed. "And I intend to do everything I can when the time comes. If Miss Schnee's little gamble pays off, then we'll be one step closer, but for right now we must wait."

There was an echoing knock on the door before it creaked open and Klein stepped in. "Sorry to intrude, but dinner will soon be ready and Miss Winter is waiting in the dining room. General there is a place set for you at the table as well." Ironwood nodded. "Thank you, I think we could all benefit from a nice meal right now." Klein led us down the hall and back into the foyer before taking us behind the staircase and through another door. The dining hall was huge and there was a long table covered in a white table cloth. A woman was sitting at the table alone but got up when we entered. "Winter!" Weiss shouted excitedly. She ran over and hugged her sister. "I'm sorry I ran from home." She awkwardly patted Weiss on the head. "It's okay Weiss. With what Father put you through I can't imagine why you would've stayed. And these must be the rest of your friends and… Qrow." She said his name with disdain. "Hey, it's good to see you too Ice Queen." Qrow tucked the Relic behind his cape. "Don't call me that." She snapped. "You better have taken care of my sister while she was in your drunken care." He half-heartedly bowed. "The best of care your Icyness." You could tell that those two had some history. "Let us all have a seat. The food should be here any moment." As if on cue, about a dozen people came in holding covered trays. And set them down the middle of the table. We all sat down and got ready to eat when the door to the foyer burst open. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!"

"Father." Weiss stood up from the table and held her ground as her dad stormed up to her and slapped her across the face. I grabbed Ruby to keep her from jumping up out of her chair. "I have dozens of shareholders and other company officials calling and harassing me over that stunt you pulled!" He looked past Weiss and locked eyes with Ruby. "And YOU!" A large white sword appeared to block his path, followed by the knight I saw her summon at Mom's bandit camp. "Do not even think about going near her." He turned on Weiss, his face completely red. "I did what was best for the company and what was best for me." I watched as Winter slowly placed her scroll on the table and pressed the screen. "What's best for the company? You just ruined the company!" Weiss stood firm. "No, I ruined your illusion. The Schnee Dust Company has been in a bad spot ever since you took over. All I did was expose you for the rotten man you are." Klein stood a few feet behind Weiss his body tense. Her father took a deep breath and composed himself. "No, all you've done is spread a lie and rumors. No one will actually believe what you've told them. You're just upset because I had to punish you for acting out. I'm the face of the Schnee Dust Company. Do you have any idea how much power I hold here in Atlas? My word is LAW!" "Your word is that of man who resents himself because he wasn't born into a family of power!" He raised his hand up to strike Weiss again but Klein moved in and grabbed his wrist. "Sir, I must ask you to keep your hands off of the young lady." Klein threw his arm down and stepped back. "No matter, come tomorrow morning everyone will be believing what I tell them," he turned and pointed towards Ironwood. "And not even the great General's word will be enough to change that!" He straightened his tie and turned on his heel as winter stood up. "The General's word may not be enough, but yours will be Father." She pressed another button on her scroll and their dad's voice filled the dining room. _"What's best for the company? You just ruined the company!"_ She pressed it again and the voice stopped. "I love you Father, but you're a terrible man and Weiss is right. You are ruining the Schnee name, and I can't let you do that." He turned from Weiss to Winter and then back to Weiss. "Checkmate Father." He stormed out of the hall following Weiss' words. She sat down and grabbed her plate. "Well? Let's eat." I placed some food on my plate and took a quick glance at everyone else. Their faces told me that they felt the same way as I did; uneasy.

"Really? I have to be the one to do something about this?" Qrow pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. "Qrow sit down! Our father still holds the power for now. Doing something in provocation will only make things worse for Weiss!" Qrow grumbled but reluctantly sat down. "He's a dick, he hit your sister and you're just going to let him get away with that!?" Winter waved her scroll in front of Qrow. "I most certainly am not. Everything we need is right here, so now we must wait." Qrow waved her off and took a drink from his flask. "There's too much waiting going on around here." I cut into my steak and took a bite, it was amazing, but the mood in the air was still thick and heavy. Blake opted for fish instead of steak and slowly ate away at it, soon enough everyone had started eating. It was awkward, really awkward, as we ate in complete silence. "So, Yang?" I nearly jumped as Ironwood's voice broke shattered the silence like glass. "Yes?" He took another bite from his own steak, chewed, and swallowed. "How is the arm treating you?" I looked down at it, Dad had told me Ironwood had his men make it. "Really well, it's not the original, but it gets the job done." He nodded, pleased with the answer. "If anything happens to it, you let me know and I'll have it fixed or replaced." It was a simple question, but it was enough to break the hold the silence had on everyone and they started their own conversations. I sat there and ate my steak, talking with Blake. Klein did his rounds around the table checking to make sure everything was good or asking if we need more water. It was nice, having a big, well prepared dinner like this, but it wasn't something I think I could get use to… at least not in this fashion, I had to make sure I wasn't talking with my mouth full, kept my elbows off the table… it just felt too fancy for my liking. "Once you all are finished with dinner, I believe a tour of the grounds is in order. But there is no rush, so please take your time and enjoy the food." Both Klein and Weiss were doing their best to make this place feel like home to us, and for as long as we're going to be in Atlas, this will be our home.

When we finished dinner Ironwood and Winter left. "We have business we must attend to, but we'll be in touch. If Jacques tries anything let us know." We all said goodbye and they left. Klein gave us all jackets took us out back, showing us around the expansive grounds that were part of the property. There was a crisp layer of snow on the ground and our feet crunched it down as we followed Klein. "A lot of the statues and gardens were added to the grounds by the request of Mistress Schnee, including the hedge maze we will see momentarily." We rounded a corner and off to the left were tall hedges, the top of which had a flat thin layer of snow. "If you would like to enter the hedges please take care not to get lost, the gardeners are not on the premises currently and they are the few who can navigate it." He chuckled to himself and led us back inside. "If you would kindly leave the jackets with me, I believe Miss Weiss can conduct a tour of the interior." Klein collected our jackets and Weiss led us upstairs.

"There are quite a few studies and ballrooms and lounges here on the second floor, along with a library. All the bedrooms and bathrooms are on the third and storage rooms and personal offices are on the fourth floor." She showed us a few of the lounges and a large library. "I'm not trying to be that guy, but do you have a room where I could get a drink?" I hit Qrow on the arm but he ignored it. "Yes, that's back down on the first floor, I'll show you after this." She led us up another flight of stairs. We passed by doors that were propped open. A few men and women were in each room making beds and tidying up. "These will be the rooms you will be staying in while you are here. Each room has its own adjoining bath. Oscar and Qrow will each have single rooms. Jaune, Nora, and Ren, there is a quad room available or you may each take singles or doubles. Blake and Yang, you two will have a double room. And Ruby you can have a single room or you can stay in my room with me." She showed us the rooms we would be staying in; all our stuff had been brought up already. When we got to my and Blake's room I paused. "I thought you said this was a double room?" I looked in at the single bed. "I did, that's a double sized bed. The only rooms that have multiple beds are in the quads. You shared a bed when we were in Mistral, and this one's bigger so there's no issue right?" I glanced at Blake. "Right." We finished up the tour and were led back down to the first floor. "That's nearly everything, I will show Qrow the bar and you're free to roam or use any of the rooms you'd like. Just do your best to avoid my father and Whitley, neither of them will be very understanding right now." She led Qrow down a hallway and left the rest of us in the foyer.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to the library." I grabbed Blake's hand and followed her as we went back up the stairs. "You're not really a book person, you don't have to come with me." She pushed the door open to the library, bookshelves lined the walls stretching up to the ceiling. "I'm not a book person, but I am a Blake person." I sat down in one of the chairs as she perused the shelves, looking for something that'd pique her interest. She pulled a small book bound in brown leather from the shelf and came over and sat in my lap. "Am I more comfortable then the chair?" Her ears dipped a little bit in embarrassment. "Yes, you're also warmer…" I sat there as she nestled in and opened the book. I reached up and gently started playing with her hair, running my hands through it and combing it with my fingers. "This is okay, right? I mean the whole Weiss thing, I think she made the right decision to stand up to her father but… what if it backfires?" Blake turned the page of her book as she answered. "We just have to be there for her, no matter what happens. But her dad messed up pretty big on this one so I think Weiss will come out on top. I mean all of Atlas saw and heard her speech, I think the people are going to side with her. And it's only a matter of time before the rest of Remnant sees and hears it too." Blake had a point, news travels fast, and with the weight that her name carried it was only a matter of time before the whole world sees her speech.

Blake's ears perked up and a few seconds later I heard footsteps coming towards the library. "It's just Ruby, I can hear her humming to herself." The echoing steps stopped, "Blake, Yang? Are you guys in here?" Blake closed her book and set it down. "Yeah we're over here." Blake got up and waved so Ruby could see her. I got up and stretched out, my legs had fallen asleep. "Blake can you help me with something?" I looked at Ruby questioningly. "Why didn't you ask me? I can help." She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "Because you can't keep a secret Yang." I crossed my arms and pouted. "Sure Ruby, I'll help." I dropped my arms to the side. "Well what am I supposed to do?" Ruby just shrugged. "Jaune and the others are down in the entertainment room trying to find a movie to watch, you could go join them." I sighed in defeat and went back downstairs. I don't even have to look for them, I could hear their voices echoing from off to the right. As I walked down the hallway I looked around and thought about how lonely it must've been for Weiss to grow up here. She must've only really got along with Klein and Winter, she's never even mentioned her mother to the rest of us… we don't even know if she's still around or not. "Why'd my sister bring you all here?" I stopped and looked back, Whitley was standing at the end of the hallway, right before the foyer. I decided to play dumb, "Beats me kid, we had to come to Atlas and she said she had everything taken care of." He scowled at me. "Everything was so much better with her gone, it was like she never even existed. I was heir to the company, father was in good spirits, and she just had to come back and ruin everything. And on top of that she brought you people into our home." I couldn't tell if he was just whining or trying to provoke me… either way it wasn't working. "I don't think we're the problem here, I think it's you and your dad. Weiss may seem cold but she's a good person, and I can tell just from meeting you and your dad that neither of you are going to win person of the year awards." It was sad really, I'm sure he wasn't always like this, but Weiss had said that he willingly became their dad's puppet. "The sooner you all leave the better, and she can take that little tramp in red with her." I activated Ember Celica and slowly started walking towards him. The expression of anger on his face wavered and was replaced with uneasiness. He took a stuttering step back. "Don't walk away from me." He planted his feet and I closed the distance between us. "You can say whatever you want about me. But if you talk about my sister like that again, you will regret it. I've hit Weiss plenty of times, and I like her. I don't like you, so don't test me." I deactivated Ember Celica and turned away from him.

I followed the voices to Jaune and the others, trying to ignore what just happened. They were sitting in chairs and on couches in front of a giant tv scrolling through movies. "Nora, we are not watching a rom-com." "But why not? Rom-coms are awesome." "Because there's three dudes and one girl in here." I stepped around to the front of the couch. "Well now there's three dudes and two girls. But I agree, no rom-com." I looked over at Ren who had his eyes closed and Oscar who was rubbing his temples. "They've been arguing for like ten minutes, Ren and I don't care what we watch. It's those two who can't decide on anything." I walked over to Jaune and took the remote from his hand. "Hey!" I ignored and scrolled over until I found an old animated movie I loved and selected it. "You two were taking too long, so now I get to choose." I sat in one of the empty chairs and set the remote next to me. "Thank you, Yang." I smiled at Ren and nodded. "I was only here for a minute and was tired of it." The movie started playing and Jaune and Nora quieted down. "What are we watching?" Weiss came in and sat down on one of the couches. "An old animated movie." The title appeared on the screen, getting a reaction from Weiss. "Oh, I love this one!" She settled in and focused on the screen. I relaxed into my chair and did the same.

"Ta-da!" Ruby busted into the room during the credits, with Blake close behind. I immediately noticed Ruby's hair was different. Normally it was black and ended in red highlights. Now there were streaks of white in her hair interweaving with black, and they ended in a light shade of blue. "Ruby what did you do?" Weiss sighed when she saw her hair. I looked over at Blake, her ears drooped when she locked eyes with me. "She didn't tell me what we were doing until I already promised to help." Ruby walked over to Weiss and sat next to her. "Do… do you not like it?" Ruby looked at Weiss with puppy dog eyes and she eventually smiled. "I love it." Ruby jumped at Weiss and hugged her tightly. "YAY!" caught Blake looking at me. "Don't even think about it." I told her sternly. She smiled and shook her head. "I won't." There was a light knocking against the door. "Pardon the intrusion. Miss Weiss, some of the board members of your family's company would like to speak with you." Klein was holding a scroll in his hand as he spoke. "Are they here now?" He shook his head. "No, unfortunately they will not be able to meet until tomorrow, I just thought I'd pass the message along."

"Thank you, Klein." He bowed. "My pleasure." The rest of us were left looking at Weiss. "Do you think your plan actually worked?" Oscar asked. "I don't think they'd be asking to speak with me otherwise. But if they can't meet with me until tomorrow then I've got plenty of time to prepare. Come on Ruby." She led Ruby out of the room, leaving the rest of us with behind. "I don't know about you guys," I said, kicking my feet up. "But I'm going to watch another movie." Blake curled up next to me in the chair. "So will I." I handed her the remote. "Here, it's your turn to pick."


	20. Shadow From the Past

I opened my eyes, I couldn't tell whether the crashing sound I heard was actually real or only in my dreams. I carefully got out of bed, trying to disturb the sleeping lump next to me. I opened the door and looked out into the hallway. Dim wall lights illuminated small patches of wall and floor, just enough to be able to find your way. Nothing was out in the hallway and I couldn't hear anything. I quietly closed the door and got back in bed, wrapping my arms around the lump and pulling it closer. _I must be hearing things._ I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to the lump struggling to get free. "Yang, let go." I loosened my grip and Blake rolled out from between my arms. "Wha?" I slowly sat up and looked around, scratching my head and stifling a yawn. "Morning." I smiled at Blake, her hair was a mess. "How'd you sleep?" Blake got out of bed and stretched, giving me quite the view. "I slept good, how about you?" I laid back down, watching Blake as she finished stretching. "Pretty good, I did wake up in the middle of the night though. I thought I heard some loud crashing noise." She sat on the edge of the bed, facing me. "I didn't hear anything, and I would've have if it happened." "Must've just been in my head then."

I laid in bed for a few moments before springing up. "Okay, time to get up." I got off the bed and twisted my torso to the right and left, cracking my back. I looked out the large window to the right of the bed, I could see the mountains off in the distance through the snow that was falling. "It must snow a lot here in Atlas." Blake nodded. "It's far enough north that the cold weather keeps snow on the ground nearly year-round. I prefer the tropical climate of Menagerie. Sunshine, sandy beaches, smell of the ocean, that's more my speed." That sounded more my speed too, I hated the cold. "You should take me sometime. Once all this is over, you know?" She smiled, "Once all this is over I'm hoping the Faunus don't feel like they have to stay on Menagerie. It took a lot to get them to come defend Haven, but I think they realize that things are changing, and by opposing Adam they are proving that not all Faunus are bad people." There was a light knock on the door. "Pardon me ladies, but breakfast is ready." His voice came through clearly but I couldn't tell how. "Thank you, Klein. Yang and I will be down in a minute." I grabbed a brush from the wardrobe and ran it through my hair, undoing the knots and making it fall in line. "I wonder what we're having?" I opened the door and stepped on something soft. I looked down and there were two pairs of slippers in front of the door, both pairs looked like big cartoon bumblebees. "What's wrong?" I stepped aside and pointed at the slippers. "I think someone's playing a joke on us." Blake slipped her feet into the slippers and took a few steps. "Joke or not, they are comfortable." I put the other pair on and we went down to the dining room.

"It took you guys long enough." Nora greeted with a mouth full of pancakes. "Did you two sleep well?" I nodded towards Ren and sat at the table. "I could get use to those big comfy beds." I poured myself a glass of orange juice. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" Just as I asked Qrow came and took a place at the table, already dressed and with the Relic hanging from his belt. "I'm going to go and meet with James today. We're safe for now so you kids can do whatever you want. Go shopping, have fun, whatever." Ruby rolled her eyes at Qrow as he poured a little bit of his flask into his coffee. "You are such a great caregiver." He smiled at Ruby. "Hey, this is how you become 'the cool uncle'." I ignored him and ate my eggs. "Well I know that at some point today I will be meeting with members of the board, probably to discuss matters pertaining to my father." I thought about what I wanted to do today. Atlas was a big place, a big place that I have never been to before. I kind of wanted to go explore the city. After breakfast and I got cleaned up, I'd have to see about going into the city. I looked over at Blake, she was quietly eating toast. _There's something else I could do today._ I felt my face flush as the images that went through my mind quickly faded and were replaced with embarrassment. I quickly looked away and shoved a whole piece of toast into my mouth and choked it down with orange juice. Blake patted my back as I started coughing. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Next time I won't try to inhale my food."

"Yang, come on. We're not at home, you can't just behave like an animal." I poured more orange juice into my now empty glass. "Have you seen yourself around cookies?" I asked Ruby, her face turning a violent red as she looked away. "Shut up." I laughed and grabbed another piece of toast. "Remember when you were ten, and Dad made a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies. You went down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and ate all of them. We found you next morning, asleep on the floor, covered with crumbs and chocolate, and an empty milk jug next to you." I started laughing halfway through the story and I was nearly in tears by the end of it as everyone but Ruby was laughing. "That's not funny Yang! What if told them something embarrassing about you." I wiped the corners of my eyes as my laughing died down. "Please, you don't have anything on me." She locked eyes with me and smirked. "Oh yeah? Remember that time Dad rented us that movie when you were eight and I was six. We both wanted to see that-" I stared at her seriously. "Don't say it." She kept on going. "We both wanted to see that animated movie about the princess and the guy who turned into a Grimm, and there was the scene when you first see the Grimm and you got so scared-" "Don't you say it!" "You got so scared you cried and wet your pants!" I glared at her and my face felt warm as everyone else started laughing at me now. "I don't play to get even Yang, I play to win."

I finished my breakfast quickly and got up from the table. "Aw Yang, don't go." I ignored her and left the dining room, heading back up to the bedroom. I shut the door behind me and went to the bathroom, taking my clothes off. I sat on the edge of the large tub as it filled with hot water. I was upset, I was irritated, and I wanted to sit in hot water and relax. I climbed in and submerged myself up to my chin in the water. I sat there, letting the hot water calm me down. "Yang, are you in there?" I sank further into the water at Blake's voice. "I'm coming in so for the love of god be covered." She opened the door and stepped in, looking at me in confusion. "What are you doing?" I turned away and ignored her. "Yang?" I stared at the wall as she walked closer. "Yang, get out of the tub." "No." I sank further into the tub just keeping the top part of my head above water. "Fine then." I could hear her messing with something and then she got in the tub with me. I felt the heat in my face, and it wasn't from the water.

"Why'd you get in the tub?" She glared at me as she sat there. "You wouldn't get out." I did my best to not stare at her. "I didn't want to get out." I snapped my head back to her. "And weren't you the one saying that I should be covered when you came in the bathroom, and then you go parading your nudity in front of me like that. I am shocked and appalled at your display of indecency." She splashed water in my face. "I didn't want to get in." Her ears were pressed against her hair and there was a slight pink to her cheeks. "Oh, I think you did." An idea popped into my head and I started crawling towards her. "Yang, stay away from me." I smiled. "Nah I wanna get closer." She backed as far away as she could before she was resting against the far side of the tub. "Yang I'm warning you." I crawled closer, I was maybe a foot away. "What, are you gonna scratch me, oh maybe you'll bite, I could get into that." Our faces were inches apart and hers was incredibly red. I slowly went in and kissed her. She was hesitant at first but kissed me back. It was gentle and sincere, just like Blake. I didn't pull away and kissed her again. She didn't hesitate this time. I pulled away and smirked at her. "I knew you wanted to get in." She rolled her eyes and pulled me back in for another kiss. "Why do you always try to ruin everything." I ran my hand down her outer thigh as she ran hers along the right side of my torso. I shivered at her touch, it was like electricity coursing through me. She ran her hands over my breasts and I slowly moved my hand towards her inner thigh. "Are you okay with this Blake?" She nodded. "Are you?" I nodded and kissed her again. "Yeah." I heard the door open and I immediately jumped back, splashing water everywhere. "Yang, I just wanted to apolo- OH MY GODS! Ew, ew, ew. Yang!" I splashed water at her as she was freaking out. "Ruby get out!" She slammed the door shut. "I'M SORRY! I'll just wait out here!" I turned back to Blake, she was breathing heavily and her face was as red as mine probably was. "I think it's time we get out." She nodded and quickly climbed out of the tub. "Yeah." I grabbed two towels, handed one to Blake and we quickly dried off. I wrapped the towel around me and grabbed our dirty clothes. Ruby was sitting on the bed, facing the other direction. "Do not turn around, we need to put clothes on." I grabbed underwear, pants, and a shirt from the wardrobe and got dressed. I waited for Blake to finish getting dressed before I talked to Ruby. "Okay, you can turn around now." She turned around on the bed, but didn't make eye contact with either me or Blake. "So… ugh… I just… wanted to apologize for making fun of you at breakfast." Normally this is the time where we'd hug it out but that probably wouldn't help right now. "It's fine Ruby, I've calmed down so it's all good." She sat there awkwardly for a moment. "So are we just gonna ignore-" "Yes, we're gonna ignore that." I looked over at Blake but she was staring at the ground. "Okay, well I'm going to go… do something?" She said it almost like she was asking for my permission. "Yeah, good call. Maybe go help Weiss prepare for her meeting." Ruby nodded slowly and got up from the bed. "Yeah that sounds like a good idea." She left and closed the door behind her.

I turned to Blake, a smile on my face. "Don't even think about it Yang." I pouted. "But we were having so much fun." She kept her stern expression. "The moment passed Yang." Her stern expression broke into a small smile. "But there will be more moments." This sucked, I was antsy now, almost painfully so. But Blake wasn't in the mood and I wasn't gonna push it. "I was thinking about going into the city today, you can join me if you want." She shook her head. "I think I'm going to stay here. I didn't get to read much yesterday." I grabbed socks and my boots and put them on. "Well I might be a few hours so have fun with your reading." I got to the stairs and Klein was coming up them. "Klein, I was going to head into the city. Is there like a transport service I can contact?" Klein shook his head. "No, no, you are Miss Weiss' guests. I will have someone take you into town and bring you back. If you'd just wait in the foyer I will have a driver pull around." I nodded as he walked off. I couldn't hear anyone talking from the foyer so everyone must have finished eating and went off to do their own things. I looked at the pictures on the wall, some were of Weiss and her family, and others were fancy, and most likely valuable, paintings.

I heard a car beep from outside and opened the front door. A modest looking silver car was at the bottom of the steps. As I approached the door automatically opened and I got in. "Klein has asked me to take you into the city." The driver handed me a coat. He had brown hair and was maybe in his thirties. "He also suggested you take a coat." I buckled up and we slowly rolled down the drive. The front gates opened as we approached and the transition from brick to road was barely noticeable as we left the grounds. "And where will we be going today, Miss…" I realized he was asking for my name. "Yang, you don't have to call Miss. And I was just wanting to explore the city. If there's a central place you could drop me off in that would be fine." We rounded a turn and I could see the city through a break in the trees. "Will do."

It was a smooth transition from hillside to outer city limits, as the trees and hills faded into houses and buildings. There wasn't a lot of character to any of the buildings, they were all white, grey, or silver, and a lot of them were very similar in exterior design. It was almost like the Atlas military designed and built everything. We took a left and merged into a busy street. A lot of the cars were similar too, just varying shades of silver, grey, and white. The only thing that had any uniqueness to it were the people. They were little splotches of color against the monochrome background that was Atlas. "I'll be letting you out up here on the right." We pulled over along a large open pavilion with a statue in the center. "Here." The driver reached back and handed me a small black disk with a button on it. "When you're ready to go press that button and I will come pick you up, wherever you're at. Also, Klein suggested you have a little money with you." He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small stack of Lien. "I can't accept that." He placed the Lien in my hand. "He insisted." I nodded and my door opened. "Thank you." I got out of the car and the door closed. I waved as he pulled back out onto the street and drove away.

There wasn't much wind but I could feel the chill in the air and pull my jacket tighter. I tucked the Lien into the interior jacket pocket along with the little pager I was given. I walked up to the statue that I saw when we got here. It was off an Atlas soldier with his weapon and the plague read _"Atlas Protects."_ I looked around, the buildings were a lot taller and more intricate then the ones we passed when coming here. The people were different too; suits, ties, and business dresses. _Must be the business center of Atlas_ , I thought as I picked a direction to walk. There were screens everywhere, reporting news, weather, stock prices rising or falling, your typical business television. _"And more news from Mistral."_ I stopped and back up a few steps to the find the source of the sound, a large screen on the side of a building across the street. _"Mistral Police Force confirms that there was indeed an attack on Haven Academy by members of the White Fang. This attack was thwarted by a small band of Huntsmen and Huntresses and a large group of Faunus that came from Menagerie to lend their help but not before the White Fang murdered the headmaster of the Huntsman Academy Leonardo Lionheart. It is not sure why they chose to attack Haven as their leader Adam Taurus escaped. Multiple members of the White Fang were taken into custody and are currently being questioned. One thing is certain though, their failed attack at Haven and subsequent capture of multiple members has dealt a heavy blow to the rouge organization."_ I was surprised that they were actually reporting on the attack on Haven. "Heh, big deal. So the Faunus showed up from Menagerie to help stop the attack, doesn't that mean they had to have known about it before hand? They're probably just trying to distract us so we let our guard down. Just watch soon enough they'll be coming for Atlas." A woman and a man were standing next to me, watching the screen and listening to the same report. "Actually, you're wrong. The Faunus came to help because the White Fang tried to kill the Belladonna family, the family that started the White Fang and one that the Faunus community has a lot of respect for. The Faunus don't want war, they just want to be accepted. Try talking to a Faunus sometime, maybe then you won't be so ignorant." I turned on my heel and smiled as the woman cursed at me and the man tried to calm her down.

The news coverage was surprising but good. They portrayed the Faunus as a group of people who oppose the actions of the White Fang, and while it didn't convince that woman it could definitely convince others. Maybe Blake's hope will become a reality. Changing colors caught my eye and drew me to a screen in the window of a bar. The screen was displaying names of drinks accompanied by pictures of the drinks. _I should tell Qrow about this place._ I moved on and continued walking, occasionally choosing a new street to explore. I stopped at a large bookstore that was sitting neatly on the corner of the block. "Huh, I'm surprised a high-tech place like Atlas even has a bookstore." I mumbled to myself. I thought about going inside but I didn't even know what I'd get. I had already bought Ruby comics and I'm not sure what Blake has or hasn't read.

"My balloon!" I turned my head as a little boy chased a silver balloon into the street. His mom tried to grab his arm but she missed as he ran arms out stretched into oncoming traffic. It all happened in slow motion. Horns blared and tires squealed as I activated Ember Celica and used it to launch myself into the street. I tackled him into a roll and covered his head so he wouldn't hit it on the ground. I felt the rush of wind from the large truck that nearly flattened us as I rolled us into a sitting position, we had barely made it to the sidewalk. "Oh my gods, Orion! Orion sweetie are you okay?!" I let go of the kid and gave him back to his mom. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run out into the street." She looked away from her son and focused on me, tears rolling down her face. "Thank you so much. I don't want to think of what happened if you hadn't been here. Just… Thank you. You're a hero." The crowd that had gathered murmured in agreement. "It's not a problem. Huntresses are supposed to protect people after all." She reached into her pocket. "I know it's not much but I insist." She tried handing me Lien but I shook my head. "It's okay, you don't have to pay me. Just make sure you keep a closer eye on him." She cried as she hugged me and then her son. The mother and son walked away and the crowd slowly dispersed, eventually just leaving me and a shorter girl who looked about my age. Something about her seemed off but I couldn't figure it out.

"That was incredible, the way you just threw yourself into danger like that. You're pretty brave… or reckless." She smiled sweetly all the while, my feeling of uneasiness growing. "Anybody in my position would've done the same." She placed a finger to her chin and looked up. "Eh, I don't know. Not everybody gets to be the hero, or wants to be for that matter. Anyway, that was rather impressive and heroic. I'll see ya later." She skipped past me. It finally donned on me why she was throwing me off so much. I quickly turned around but she was gone. The thing that had made me feel uneasy, were her eyes… her two different colored eyes… one brown and one pink. I ran to the corner to see if I could still find her but I couldn't even remember what she was wearing I was so distracted. Ruby had said that Roman died during the Fall of Beacon, but she didn't know what happened to Neo. Ruby said that the last time she saw Neo she was floating away on the wind after she forced Neo off the airship. I remember her eyes though, the way she used them to taunt me without saying a word during our fight on the train. I gave up looking after a few minutes, she had to have been long gone by now.

I found a small ice cream shop and went inside. I ordered and sat down at one of the tables. I was nervous, if that really was Neo then she knew where we were. I didn't know if she was alone or working with others, hell she could have joined with Cinder and Salem for all I knew. _I have to tell the others._ I reached into my jacket pocket and pressed the little pager I was given. As soon as I did, someone pulled the other chair out from my table and sat down. "Hey again. Crazy running into you here." It was her. I tried to play it cool, in the off chance this wasn't her I didn't want to freak out a total stranger. "Yeah I just thought I'd stop for some ice cream. What are you doing here?" She pointed to the tag on her shirt. "I work here. How's the ice-cream?" So maybe it was just a coincidence then. "It's good, just what I needed." She smiled as I ate another spoonful. "That's good." We sat there in silence for a few moments before she spoke up again. "You know it has been a while Yang." I froze in place, spoon mid scoop. "Yeah I think the last time we saw each other I kicked your butt on the train that we used to unleash Grimm in Vale. But you're not the last member of your team that I saw." I put the spoon back in the cup and set it on the table. "No, the last member of your team that I saw was the brat Ruby. She's your sister, no?" I glared as she smiled sweetly all the while. No one else was out here in the lobby, if I wanted to, I could take her. "Don't bother trying anything. The drug that we put in your little treat is probably starting to take effect." As she was speaking her image started to get blurry and my body felt heavy. "Oh, I've been waiting for so long to get my revenge on that brat, and now I have the perfect chance. Nighty night." My vision went black and I slumped forward in my chair.

I was rocked by a splitting headache as I came to. "Ugh, my head." I tried to rub my temples but my arms were restrained. I could hear a low rumble and felt an occasional bump so we had to be moving. It was dark wherever I was, no light anywhere. A door slid open and a figure stood in the dimly lit doorway. "Hey you awake yet?" It was her voice. "Screw you." I mustered. My head was bounding and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. "Hey now, that's not very ladylike." All I could see was her silhouette, I couldn't make out a face or anything else. "Screw. You." I tried wiggling my arms back and forth but the bindings were too tight. "That's reinforced steel, you're gonna have a hard time breaking out of that." She walked closer and dim green lights illuminated the room. "What do you want?" She got really close and smiled. "I told you already, I want revenge on Ruby for taking my Roman away from me. And I will have it. It's nothing personal, you're just a piece in my game." A game huh, that's all this was to her. "Let me tell you something about Ruby. She doesn't play to get even, she plays to win." Neo frowned. "We will see." She turned and left, leaving me alone in the darkness as the dim green lights shut off. _Nobody knows where I'm at. I can't break free. What am I supposed to do?_ I had no idea how long I had been out. Minutes, hours, days, who knew? _Has anyone figured out that I'm missing yet?_ I couldn't do anything and my head was still pounding. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, stressing out wasn't going to help me right now. I just had to wait and see what happens.

"Hey, wake up." I was shaken awake, the air in this little room was a lot colder now. "Come on, standup." I sat there, not wanting to do as she said. "Look just make this easier for both of us. Come on, standup before I have to get my men." I rolled my legs under me so I could stand up. Neo grabbed my arm to help me but I shook her off. "Do not touch me." I growled. She giggled, irritating me. "Testy, testy, hot stuff. I was just trying to help." She led me to the open door. "Do not call me hot stuff." She sighed and led me down a short hall to another door. "I'm just trying to be friendly. But if you want to act like a bitch-" I turned around and swung my body at her, she jumped back and lightly landed on her feet. "QUIT MESSING WITH ME!" She shrugged and gestured to the door behind me. I turned around, my blood boiling, and walked towards the door. I stood and waited for her to squeeze by so she could open the latch.

The door swung open and I stepped out and down, my boots crunching into the crisp snow. The wind was blowing wildly and the heavy snow was obscuring anything further than a hundred feet away at least. I turned and looked at what I had just gotten out of. It was a large unmarked semi-trailer, bigger than any I had seen before. I felt a hand on my back and a slight pressure guiding me away. "Come on, we can't stay out here for too long." I allowed myself to be led over to a heavy-duty metal door embedded in the side of a sheer cliff face. Neo opened the door and led me inside. It was a long hallway that I couldn't see the end of, it was also substantially warmer in here than it was outside. "The heavy snowfall and unpredictable weather really helps mask this place from prying eyes." Why was she still talking? "After Beacon, I had nothing. Roman was gone, our allies were gone, and the white fang was gone. I was alone, but I couldn't stay in Vale. I snuck aboard the first ship I found and low and behold it took me to Atlas." I stopped and turned to her. "You know I liked you more when you couldn't talk." She rolled her eyes and pushed me along the hallway. "Yeah, I liked it too, but Roman was the only person who could really understand me when I couldn't. I found some people, made some friends, and I had my voice fixed… for the most part." She moved her hair from in front of her neck revealing a large scar. "You have to have a voice to call the shots." The hallway ended in another metal door that she pushed open. It looked like they had setup an entire command center in here, along with a warehouse. "It took a while but I gathered plenty of people who were willing or convinced to help out." I looked around, there were plenty of crates laying around that had _"Atlas Military"_ printed on the side and even a few Atlesian Knights in standby against a far wall. "So what, all of this to get back at my sister?" She actually laughed at that. "No my revenge against Ruby is a more personal matter. This," She motioned to everything around us, "this is to continue Roman's goal of upsetting the world order. He had big dreams, but because of your sister he wasn't able to see them through… but I will."

She led me to a large room with clear walls and lights. She opened the door forced me into the door way but stopped me from going in all the way. "One second." I felt the bindings on my arms loosen up and then my hands were free. I thought about trying to fight, but I didn't have Ember Celica and I knew I couldn't make it out of here without them. "There you go." I walked the rest of the way into the room. There was a bed, a couch, a radio, and a TV. "Isn't this supposed to be a prison cell?" It looked almost like someone's boring bedroom. "Prisoners aren't animals, plus what better way to get people to behave than by giving them things that can be taken away?" I hated to admit it but she had a point. It made sense when thinking about it rationally. When subjugated the people who fight back are always the people who have nothing to lose, the people with something to lose fear losing it and so never fight back. "Are you hungry? I'll have someone bring something for you to eat." She walked away leaving me to my confinement. I took the jacket off and threw it on the bed. I turned when I heard the dull tink of plastic hitting stone. I looked at the ground near the bed and saw the small black pager that I was given earlier. _They didn't check the inside of my jacket._ I ran over and picked it off the ground, turning it over. It was broken and cracked. I checked the jacket pockets and the Lien I was given was missing.

"Hope is the ultimate driving force isn't?" Neo was standing at the door. "We found that little thing in your jacket pocket and broke it for you. It's really a shame but no one will be saving you until I want them too." She smiled sweetly and slid a chocolate bar under the door. "If you need anything let me know." I walked over and grabbed the chocolate bar as she walked away. _I need to find a way out of here._ I turned the radio on and sat on the couch, staring at the rocky ceiling beyond my clear prison. I unwrapped the chocolate bar and looked at it. It was striped with three distinct colors; pink, brown, and white… Neapolitan. _I hope she's ready for when I get out of here._ I took a bite and tried to think of a plan.

 **Elsewhere**

"What do you mean she's missing!?" Blake shouted. "Blake, let him explain." Weiss told her. Weiss, Ruby, and Blake were standing in the foyer with Klein and the driver. "I got the notification when she pressed her pager that she was ready to leave, but when I got to where she paged from she wasn't there. It'd be different if she just went somewhere and pressed the pager again but she didn't. I don't know where she's at." Klein stepped in to continue. "When Theo told me, I tried to track her through the pager but it has been deactivated, meaning that somebody broke or destroyed the pager." Blake was fuming and Ruby was desperately trying to keep her calm. "We know where the pager was activated from but that's it." Klein added. "Well then what are we waiting for? Klein, I need you to call the board members and reschedule, after that contact General Ironwood. I'll have Theo take us to Yang's last location." Klein nodded and started dialing while the girls followed Theo out the door and into the car. "I knew I should have gone with you." Blake whispered to herself.

 **Neo's Base**

"My people tell me that your friends have called in Ironwood. They've been searching for the past couple of hours, they won't find you though. Camera's everywhere in Atlas but having them hooked up to the power grid really wasn't a smart choice. So easy to gain control of." I ignored her as I listened to the music and tossed the tennis ball I asked for up into the air, over and over again. "You know you should just hear me out about this." I threw the tennis ball against the door and it bounced back to me. "No." She sighed, "If you just hear what I have to say, maybe you'll come around." I knew what she was trying to do, it's what Ruby always tried to do, get people to join her side. "The world isn't perfect Yang, I know that, you know that, and Roman knew that. The people in power, who are supposed to protect the weak, are corrupt and instead of protecting they harm. All I want to do is remove this hierarchy and give the people at the bottom a chance… that's all Roman ever wanted, was a chance. People like us, you and me and Roman, we're stepped on all the time by those with more power. The strong and powerful use the weak, like us, like stepping stones or stairs to get closer to their goal, not caring that the stones they use sink into the river or the stairs they've climbed rot away. Self-preservation, a basic instinct in living beings, but it's also what gives rise to greed and corruption. But think of what would happen if we remove those powerful people from the equation. All the good that could happen if we just let people thrive with nothing to hold them back." I already knew what would happen. "Chaos. Chaos is what would happen. No matter how flawed the system is people still need order and stability. You take that away from them and the world will be worse now than it was before. That's why I'm not going to let you do it." She frowned. "No, no, no. You're not looking at it from the bigger picture, why can't you see that? I can see it, Roman could too." I sat up and set the tennis ball down. "No, you only see what Roman told you to see, why can't _you_ see that? You're not going to get your way. As soon as Ruby and my friends find out where I am they'll come for me. And my girlfriend… will tear you apart." I bounced the tennis ball off the door again and laid back down on the couch. "Please, when your friends finally do get here they'll be walking into an ambush, and your sister… will die." I launched the tennis ball at the door and let it bounce to the ground, rolling to a stop at the other side of the room. "I think you're underestimating Ruby." I growled. "I think you're underestimating me." She replied in a stern tone. I flipped her off as she walked away, it wasn't much but it helped calm some of my aggression. "No one's going to die over me."

 **Ironwood's Office**

"What do you mean you still don't have any leads, it's been three days Jimmy. Where the hell is Yang?" Qrow sat on the other side of Ironwood's desk in his office at the academy. "Qrow, you have to believe me. We've been going through all the security footage before and after she went missing. We know she entered the store and then never came back out. We checked the footage from the surrounding five blocks but there isn't a trace of her." Qrow slammed his fist down on the desk cracking the large screen. "We both know people don't just disappear James. You're not looking hard enough." He pulled his hand away from the glass screen, smearing blood as it dripped from the slices in his hand. "Qrow I need you to calm down. I know people don't just disappear into thin air, but right now that is what we are dealing with. The store she entered is abandoned. Whoever did this thought ahead, far enough ahead to avoid detection in Atlas. This isn't a normal group we are dealing with." James handed Qrow a cloth for his hand. "I know she's your niece, and you have to believe I'm doing everything I can to help find her, but we just don't have anything to go off of." Qrow wrapped his hand, staining the white cloth red. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying your best to help, but we may be running out of time to find her." James nodded solemnly, recognizing the truth in Qrow's words. Qrow sighed and reached for his flask, but it was empty. "Would like a fill up?" Qrow shook his head. "No, it's been empty since we lost Yang, and it will stay that way until we find her." Qrow got and headed for the door. "I'm going back to that storefront, look it over one more time." James nodded as Qrow left. When he was sure Qrow was gone he sighed and reached into his desk drawer, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself a glass. He looked at the cracked screen of his desk and took a long drink.

 **Neo's Base**

"Here you go." She placed clean clothes and a towel on a chair. "Once you're done head back to your room." She left me alone in the bathroom so I could shower. I gingerly took my shirt off, being careful not to bang or stress my bandaged arm. The last time she let me shower I tried to make a break for it. I didn't make it and ended up with a broken left arm. Neo had it treated and put some new medical device that was basically a compression sleeve on it so it could start to heal. She said something about the sleeve was made of some kind of mesh alloy that compressed tightly to hold the bones in place while they healed so that a cast wasn't necessary. I ran the water and got in the shower. More and more frequently she was coming and talking to me. And after every talk she would let me out of the room for a little longer each time. _She probably thinks she's winning me over._ That's the reason she's letting me shower without a guard in the room and letting me go back to the room myself. _By trusting me she thinks that I will slowly trust her? What a joke._ Whenever she did let out to walk around nobody else interacted with me, they acted like I wasn't even there. She even let me have Ember Celica back, with no ammo of course. I quickly showered, dried off and got dressed. I carefully put my left arm back into the sling and stepped out of the room. Neo was waiting for me. "See, I'm not such a bad person. How's your arm?"

I walked past her and back towards my room. "What kind of question is that? It's broken, no thanks to your goons." She sighed. "I told you not to try to escape, you didn't listen. I couldn't just let you go unpunished, then you wouldn't learn anything." I clenched my fist. She was talking down to me like Dad use to do when I was little. "I think you've learned your lesson though." I stopped and spun around, staring down at her. "What are you even trying to accomplish here?! You think that by treating me nice I'll join you? You want to kill my sister and hurt my friends, so why would I ever join you?!" She looked down and shook her head. "You haven't remembered anything I've told you. It's not about whether you join me or not. It's about understanding why I'm doing this. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it, you just have to understand why this is happening." I clenched my left hand so hard I felt my nails break skin. "This is happening because you're fucking psychotic! If you're so sure that Ruby will die and that my friends won't rescue me then go ahead and let them know where I'm at. At least then we can end this little game you've been playing." Her face dropped, her expression almost sad. "Fine. If that's how you want it." She pulled out a scroll and typed out a quick message. "Just remember, you asked for this." She nodded to someone behind me and I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head.

 **Schnee Manor**

Ruby and the others sat around the dining room table, quietly eating breakfast. Ruby jumped as her scroll buzzed, scaring everyone around her. She had a message from an unknown contact. She opened it and gasp horrified at the picture of an unconscious Yang, her arm in a sling and covered in bruises and blood trailing down her face. "Oh my gods, YANG!" Her scroll automatically opened its GPS and zeroed in on a location high up in the mountains. "Ruby?" Blake asked in a panicked tone. "What's wrong? What happened to Yang?" She threw her scroll on the ground and used her semblance to run from the room. Blake picked up the scroll and the minimized the map, showing Blake something that would haunt her nightmares forever. She passed the phone to the others, their gasps and looks of horror doing nothing to calm Blake down. Ruby kicked the door open, fully dressed and Crescent Rose in her hands. "What the hell are you guys waiting for?! I'll call Uncle Qrow somebody else get ahold of Ironwood!" Everybody jumped up from the table and scrambled. The tension was pulled tight as they got dressed and readied their weapons. They knew where Yang was, but could they make it in time?

 **Neo's Base**

"Wake up!" Her voice wasn't nice anymore, the kindness that was in it replaced by malice and contempt. I painfully lifted my head, I could feel the blood dried on my face. "Look." She showed me a screen where five Atlas Military vehicles were travelling up a winding road in heavy snowfall. "They're coming for you, just like you wanted. Let's see if we can guess which one your sister is in." She smiled evilly and pressed a button on her scroll. I watched the screen and about thirty seconds later a missile hit the fourth vehicle, blowing it apart. The fifth vehicle had to swerve to avoid the flaming wreckage. "We'll let the rest of them get here. We don't want it to be too easy." I watched the screen in horror, hoping that none of my friends were in that flaming pile of metal. "It didn't have to be this way Yang. I only wanted Ruby, but now the deaths of whoever was in that military truck are on your hands. You asked for this." She smiled sweetly and turned her attention back to the screen, pressing a few more buttons on her scroll. "Let the games begin."


	21. One Problem After Another

"Look Yang," Neo showed me a live video feed of the four military trucks pulling up outside the base, "they're here but I don't see any of your friends getting off those trucks. Maybe I did get lucky." She was right, all I felt was dread as uniformed soldiers got off those trucks.

"Ma'am, the airships are ready." She nodded at the man.

"Send them out then." The man nodded back and took off. A low rumbling filled the base as it shook all around us. The wall near their airships peeled back revealing the falling snow and fierce wind of the outside. Airship engines roared to life and dozens of people, armed to the teeth, climbed into them. Row by row the airships lifted off and flew out of the hangar. "Oh Yang, people are going to die today. And it's your fault." I spit blood out of my mouth at her feet.

"No, it's yours. You didn't have to do this. And now, when I get free, I'm going to take you down. Not Ruby, not Blake, not the military… me."

She smiled, "Well that's a nice thought, but no you won't. I've already won, you just can't see it yet. Bye now, Yang, if you live come find me again. We'll play some more." She grabbed a group of people and went over to an empty air ship and got on. It lifted off and flew out of the hangar. There was still a large force of her goons waiting for the military men outside. A large explosion shook the base as the door I was lead through when I got here was launched across the floor. Atlas military personnel stormed in, coming under fire from Neo's men.

I tried to stand but was too weak and fell out of the chair. I slowly used my right arm to drag myself along the floor trying to get to where Atlas was coming through. _Need… to find… Ruby._ My body was screaming at me, I was in so much pain. _Just… keep… moving._ I heard the roar of airship engines and looked over to see Atlas marked airships entering the hangar. The first one to land opened its doors and a red streak shot out, taking down the nearest bad guy. Even with the gunfire and explosions I could still hear her scream, "WHERE'S MY SISTER!" A large white knight appeared and started running rampant of Neo's men. Qrow, Blake, and the others piled out of the airship and joined the fight. I changed directions and started dragging myself to them, the only reason I could keep going was because my right arm couldn't feel pain.

I mustered as much strength as I could, "BLAKE!" Even from here I could see her ears perk up, making me smile. She scanned the room and finally zeroed in on me. She sprinted over to me and slid to a stop, dropping to her knees.

"Yang! Are you okay?" She quickly picked me up and carried me back to the airship, laying me down inside. "Wait right here." I was safe, I knew we would get out of here now that everyone had shown up. The last of my strength faded and I blacked out.

I was jostled awake. I was still in so much pain and my mouth still tasted like blood. I was tightly strapped into a seat and Ruby, Blake, and the others were sitting in similar seats. I groaned and spit some blood out of my mouth. "Yang!" Ruby shouted, she tried to fumble with her seat harness but Qrow held her back.

"Do not touch her. She's in a lot of pain." He turned to me. "We're flying to the academy. James has people there who will take care of you. You need to go back to sleep." I felt a hand on my shoulder and a wave of calm washed over me, putting me to sleep.

I faded in and out a couple of times. I would wake up for a few seconds, catch a fragment of conversation or hear someone's voice, and then fall back asleep. "That was… not fun." I looked at myself she was also covered in bruises. "What happened to you?" She rolled her eyes at me. "Obviously whatever happened to you." We were standing on nothing, there was black all around us. "I'm going to kill Neo." She looked at me surprised. "Whoa, that's a little intense, even for you." I shook my head at her. "No, it's the right amount of intensity. We're going to get better, then we're going to find Neo." She was about to say something back but stopped. "Oh, you're waking up."

I slowly opened my eyes, it was dark in the room. The digital clock on the wall said it was close to midnight. I was lying in a large bed, the monitors next to me displaying different data like in a hospital drama. There was a small table attached to the right of the bed and it had a scroll sitting on it. I grabbed it and opened the messaging system. I put in Blake's contact and typed in a message. _"Hey where are you?"_ Not even five seconds after I sent it I got a message back. _"We'll be right there."_ I set the scroll down on the table and waited. Two minutes later Blake, Ruby, and Weiss were sitting on the edge of the bed. "It was Neo," I told them, "she was after Ruby, kept spouting off all this nonsense about revenge for Roman and fulfilling his dream."

They looked at me confused. "I thought Neo couldn't talk." I shook my head at Ruby.

"She couldn't, but when she got here to Atlas she had some kind of surgery to fix her voice." I looked at the three of them and asked them the question I didn't want to know the answer to. "How many people died?" The look of shock on their faces told me they weren't expecting that question. They looked back and forth at each other. "Don't ignore me! How many people died trying to rescue me?!"

Weiss put her hand on my shoulder. "There were thirteen casualties." Neo was right, their blood was on my hands.

"I don't want to talk anymore."

Ruby tried to speak up. "But Yang it wasn-"

"I said I don't want to talk anymore." Ruby and Weiss got up from the bed and left, leaving me and Blake. She stood up and walked over to me, kissing me on the forehead.

"It's not your fault Yang. Let me know if you need anything… I love you." I wanted to say it back as she walked out of the room but I just couldn't. Because of me thirteen people lost their lives, thirteen people don't get to see their families anymore. All because I fell right into Neo's trap. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to muffled voices and the door to my room opening. A man in a button up and a tie walked in with five kids in uniform. "Ah you're awake, good, good. Well students this will make it easier to get your readings and get some practice in." I looked at the man confused.

"What's going on here?" One of the students started recording the data from the monitors.

"Ah, you see with school back in session and all, we are holding classes again. These students are part of my medical class where we teach them how to take care of a fellow wounded Huntsmen or Huntress while out on missions." I shook my head.

"Oh no, no, no. I am not some class project. Where's Ironwood?" The teacher raised an eyebrow at me.

"The Headmaster? I imagine he's in his office." One of the students approached me with a large needle.

"No, you stay away from me."

"Yang just let the students do their work." Blake walked in and the student restrained my arm while I was distracted.

"I'm not a class project Blake."

"Well right now you are so just let them do what they need to do." They checked my blood pressure, pulse, ran a quick scan of my vitals and aura levels, and checked my left arm and drew a little bit of blood. They asked me a few questions and gave me some pain medication.

"Thank you for being cooperative Miss Xiao Long." The teacher smiled and led the students out of the room.

"Blake… I'm sorry. I wanted to say, 'I love you' last night but I… I just couldn't. I know it's not my fault but I… I just…" Tears started forming in my eyes and Blake hugged me comfortingly.

"It's okay Yang. I know how you feel, I felt the same way after Adam attacked Beacon and when you lost your arm. I blamed myself but it wasn't my fault, no matter how much I thought it was." I cried into her shoulder for a few minutes before pulling away. "I brought you some clean clothes. Can you shower by yourself?"

I smiled at her through the tears. "Will you shower with me if I say no?" She smiled back and shook her head.

"No, I'll go back and grab one of the students to soak you down." I grimaced and slowly shifted my legs over the edge of the bed. I stood up slowly and took a small step forward, testing myself.

"Yeah I think I can manage." I wiped the tears from my eyes as she smiled and placed my clean clothes on the bed.

"Okay, shower, get dressed, and we'll go see Ironwood. He wants to know about what happened." I nodded and closed the bathroom door behind me. I still had a medical sleeve on my left arm but this one was different, it had a few small screens and _Atlas_ was printed on it.

After I showered and got dressed, Blake led me to Ironwood's office. "Ruby, Weiss, and I have been staying on campus for the past couple of days while you've recovered." I stopped her.

"Days? I mean I know I was with Neo for a week but how long was I out?" Blake shrugged.

"About three or four days maybe? I didn't sleep much so it's kind of hard to tell." I didn't notice it at first but she did have dark circles under her eyes. We stopped in front of a pair of large steel doors. Blake knocked and announced us. "Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long." The doors opened and Blake led me inside.

Ironwood looked up from his desk and leaned back in his chair. "Ah Yang, it's good to see you're making a recovery. I hope my students didn't bother you too much, normally they only have lectures and practice dummies to go off of. I assumed letting them practice on an actual patient would be a good change of pace." He smiled warmly as we sat down across from him.

"It was annoying but bearable." He moved all the paperwork off of his desk and got down to business.

"I know that this whole event must have been traumatizing for you, but can you tell me what happened?" I thought back.

"Well I guess it all started when I saved a little boy. He ran out into traffic and I stopped him from getting hit by a truck. A girl approached me and made some quick conversation and then left. I ran into her again at this ice cream shop, except it wasn't just some random girl. It was Neo, Roman Torchwick's partner. She had drugged my ice cream and then I woke up in the back of a semi-trailer. We ended up in the mountains and she held me at her base. She talked to me a lot while I was her prisoner, even was nice to me and let me out of my holding cell. She told me that after Beacon she snuck away on a ship and came to Atlas. While here she got her voice fixed and slowly gathered a force. She said that all she was trying to do was continue Roman's plans… his dream. She wants to destabilize government all over the world so the people without any power can rise up and fight back." Ironwood was typing down everything that I had been saying, entering it into a data log. "She kept trying to make me understand why she was doing it. The only reason she took me though, was so she could get to Ruby. She blames Ruby for Roman's death. When I refused to see things her way, they beat me… viciously. She sent my location to Ruby so they would come rescue me. Then they loaded up their airships with a lot of supplies and weapons and took off. She never said where they were going. The last thing she told me was that if I survive, to come find her." I finished my story and sat quietly as Ironwood typed the rest of it down.

"That base they were using was an old Atlas storage facility. We had many storage facilities tucked away, but we stopped using them years ago. But now I'm inclined to send groups to check on all of them. Yang, I can't apologize enough for this whole situation. Anyone in Atlas is under my protection, and I let you down. Neo escaped this time but I have my best men and women working on tracking her down. She won't evade us for long." I didn't know what she was planning. She went on and on about getting revenge on Ruby but then left before waiting to see if she actually killed her. It was almost as she were... broken? I think that's the right description.

"She seemed very unstable when I talked with her. But I also think she's smarter than she was letting on. She's definitely more dangerous than Roman ever was." Ironwood nodded.

"And she's got my technology. But while we're on the subject of technology, I had your arm upgraded while you were resting. We took one of Ember Celica and had it built into your arm for you. We've also reinforced it and added Dust capabilities to it as well. You can cycle through Dust chambers to add elemental effects to the blasts from Ember Celica. We've done the same the same to the other Ember Celica as well. You're more than welcome to test them out in a sparring match if you'd like. We have plenty of capable students here."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I have Blake if I need to train. But going back to Neo, how did she even get any Atlas technology? Aren't you guys super advanced when it comes to security. I mean she even had some of the knights with her."

Ironwood sighed. "Over the past couple of months, more and more of our supplies and resources have disappeared. There haven't been any attacks though. What I'm coming to understand is that there is a traitor or traitors. I'm not sure how many or who but there can't be much other explanation for it. I've kept it quiet to keep the public opinion of us stable. That's why I'm putting a lot of effort into tracking Neo down. If she attacks the public with Atlas technology then that may be the end of the Atlas Military." He took a drink from his coffee, the stress he was under prevalent on his face. "Now, I'm sorry for being rude but I must get back to my work. I've informed the professors that your team would be here on campus and they shouldn't bother you. Feel free to use any of the facilities we have here or even sit in on a few classes if you'd like. And one last thing," He turned and looked directly at me, "I'd like you to stay for one more day, just to make sure there aren't any lasting effects. I hope you understand."

I groaned and Blake elbowed me in the side. "She's fine with it. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. Please let us know if you find anything out about Neo."

He nodded as the door to his office slid open. "I'll contact Qrow immediately if anything comes up." Blake got up and pushed her chair in.

"I have one last question. Well more of a request. Can you let our dad know that Ruby and I are okay? I know it's hard to communicate with Vale but you must have a way."

He smiled and nodded. "Sure, I'll let Tai know you two are fine." I got up and pushed my chair in.

"Thanks General. We'll be seein ya." We left the office and I groaned. "I don't wanna stay here another night. I wanna go back to Weiss'." She jabbed me in the side.

"Quit complaining. We were all worried about you, and we still are. I mean look at you, you're doing better but you still have some scrapes and bruises and your arm is still broken! Just quit being stubborn and think about how you'd feel if I was in your position!" She didn't hit me, but I recoiled and felt a pull on my heart. I looked at her and saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I... you're right. I'm sorry, I just... I can't just wait around while Neo is out there. She's after Ruby, and now she's probably after you and everyone else. I'm just trying to protect everyone." I dropped my arms to the side in defeat, my last sentence barely a whisper. She knocked me on the forehead with her knuckle.

"You can't do everything by yourself, when are you gonna learn that? You have to start thinking of us before you go off and do something stupid, take our feelings into account. You're staying here for the night, and that's final." She wrapped her arms around me. "I'm sick of seeing you get hurt." I hugged her back.

"I'm sorry, I know that I'd be devastated if anything like what happened to me happens to you. I never once stopped to think about how everyone else felt. I'll stay here and I won't complain, but you owe me." She frowned at me, wiping her eyes, but I couldn't help but smile.

"That's not how this works Yang." I crossed my arms.

"It does with me." Her frown broke into a shy smile.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" I nodded confidently, grinning.

"Yes you are." This time it was Blake who groaned.

"Are you... feeling better?" We were sitting at a table in the dining hall. Ruby was sitting across from me, her question hanging in the air.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. I'm... sorry for making you worry so much. And for being so cold last night. I was... upset." Ruby sighed in relief and Weiss smiled comfortingly.

"It's okay Yang, you're safe. That's what matters most." I took a bite of my steak.

"Yeah but I have to stay here for another night. I'd rather go back and sleep in the comfy bed at your place." I felt Blake's elbow in my side again, and I could feel her glare.

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't complain." I laughed awkwardly and scratched my head.

"Yeah... so what are we gonna do today?" Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose and held it tightly.

"Mr. Ironwood gave me some cool upgrades for Crescent Rose and I can't wait to try them out! He gave us all upgrades!" I looked at Blake and Weiss and they both nodded.

"Myrtenaster can now combine Dust from its different chambers to create new effects."

"And Gambol Shroud's blade has been reinforced to cut through thicker material and it's sheath edge can now be enhanced with Dust, just like my Semblance."

I looked at Ruby as she cuddled Crescent Rose."My baby has a whole bunch of new secret tricks up her sleeve." I took another bite of my steak and washed it down with some juice.

"Speaking of sleeves, what's that on your arm?" Weiss questioned.

"It's a medical sleeve, it's supposed to broken bones in place so they heal better. It eliminates the need for a cast. At least that's what... Neo told me..." I still felt uncomfortable talking about her.

"I heard one of the medical personnel here at the academy say that this newer model enhances the wearer's Aura to help speed the mending and recovery." Blake added. I looked at it, if this sleeve really could do all of that I was surprised they weren't being used a lot more.

"I feel like a glorified guinea pig." I complained.

Blake shoved more steak into my mouth."Just shut up and eat your steak dork."

I chewed my steak and swallowed. "Speaking of dorks, I wonder when Team SSSN is going to meet us. I thought they said they were going to meet us in Atlas." I remembered what Sun had said before he left Mistral.

"Yeah you're right. Neptune doesn't like the water so they had to have flown. They should have beat us here." Weiss was right, there's no way Neptune would've got on a boat. If they had flown here, they would have beat us by a few days.

"So where are they then?" Ruby asked. I looked over at Blake as she pulled her scroll out.

"I don't have any messages from him. I can try calling him and see if he answers." She dialed him and we waited.

"Yo, Blake! What's up?" She put it on speaker so we could all hear him.

"Where are you guys? I thought you were going to meet us in Atlas? We've been here over a week now." There was nervous laughing on the other end.

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaah, about that. We're gonna be another day or so. We couldn't get an airship so our only other option was a boat. It took some... persuasion to get Neptune on the ship."

I chimed in. "What exactly do you mean persuade?"

"Oh, Yang, hey. And I say persuade but I really mean Scarlet, Sage, and I snuck him onto the ship while he was sleeping. Needless to say he was less than pleased when he woke up. Are Ruby and Weiss with you too?"

"Hi Sun!" Ruby greeted happily.

"Hello Sun, tell the rest of your team we said hello." Weiss added.

"Yeah I will. I'll give you guys a call when we get close. Where should we meet up?" I looked at the others and then spoke up. "Atlas Academy, we'll send someone to pick you four up." There was a pause on the other end.

"Okay, yeah, cool. We'll see you guys tomorrow."

He hung up and Blake set the phone down."Well that solves that." We didn't really fill Sun in after Haven and he probably filled in the rest of his team even worse.

"So what are we going to tell them once they get here?" I pushed my potatoes around with my fork and waited for an answer.

"Well we're going to have to tell them the truth. They need to know what they're getting into... what's at stake. They need to be given the choice to back out, just like we were given." Weiss was right, we were all given choices up to this point. Sun and his team weren't though. Sun just agreed to help without really knowing what they were getting themselves into.

"I don't think we need to worry. Sun, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage are tough. I don't think they'll just run away from this." "Ruby's also had a point. If I've learned anything about Sun from the time I spent with him it's that he'll always have your back. I'm sure Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet are the same. They'll have our backs if we ask them to."

I set my fork down on the plate. "Do we ask them though?" The other three got quiet. "Think about what just happened to me. Think about Weiss, she almost died in Haven. I don't want to put them through that. I don't want to put you guys through that again. I was terrified over that whole situation... I know it was worse for you three. More people means we'll be safer... but that's also more backs to watch." I missed Sun, Neptune, and the others... I really did. But after everything that's happened, I'm not sure if bringing in more people is the best idea.

"You're right." Out of everyone to agree with me I wasn't expecting it to be Ruby. "I don't really want to ask them either. But we need their help. We need every friend and ally we can get... because we're stronger when we stand together. I know you're worried Yang, I am too, but we need to do this. Do you trust me?" I nodded.

"Of course I trust you, what kind of question is that?" I sighed. "You're our leader, if you say we need to ask them for their help, then we'll ask. I just wanted to let you know how I felt." I pushed my plate away, I didn't want to eat anymore.

"Well we have a day until they get here. What do we do in the meantime?" I wanted to test out Ember Celica but my left arm probably wasn't fit enough to run an actual practice match.

"You think Ironwood would know if I snuck off campus?" I smiled slyly, an idea forming.

"You're not leaving campus." Blake stated coldly.

"Come on Blake. It'll be worth your while." I finished the last bit off with a sing-song voice.

"No, you need to stay on campus in case anything happens to you."

I pouted and leaned on her. "You're no fun."

She laughed a little at my remark. "You chose to date me."

I smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Yeah, you're right." As I pulled away I noticed that Blake smelled… different, in a good way. "Blake, are you using a new shampoo?"

She inched away slightly, her ears pressed against her head. "No, why do you ask?" Her voice was wavering.

I scooted closer. "You smell amazing."

She stood up quickly. "Hey, so what did you want to do off of campus?"

She was distracting me, trying to divert my attention. "No, no, no, that's not going to work." I forced her to sit back down.

"Is something wrong Blake?" She shook her head but I could tell she was lying.

"No Ruby, everything's fine I'm just..." Her fingers were rapidly tapping against the table and she was rubbing her legs together. I felt my eyes widen when I figured it out.

"Oh my gods, you have got to be kidding me. No way!" Blake looked at me, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Shut up!"

Ruby jumped up and put her hands on the table, "What, what is it!?" I felt bad because I was laughing so hard and couldn't speak.

"Come on Ruby, I think we should go."

"But-" Weiss grabbed Ruby by the arm and pulled her away, Ruby protesting the whole time.

Blake started hitting me to get me to stop laughing. "Hey," I managed to get out through the laughter, "don't hit me I'm injured." She looked at me, her face a mix of anger and embarrassment.

"Don't be an ass and I won't have to hit you." She looked so adorable I just pulled her into a hug.

"I couldn't help it, you tried so hard to hide it but your body gave you away." She struggled to get away from me but I didn't let go.

"It's not my fault my body's this way." she whispered. I giggled as she relaxed into my arms.

"How long?" I asked, finally letting her go.

"Since yesterday. And it normally lasts a week." She hit me again as I tried to stifle a laugh.

"Oh, I am going to have so much fun with you. And the best part is you're totally gonna want it."

Her face flushed again as she tried to hit me. "Not if I say no."

I smirked at her, a look of challenge on my face. "They only thing you're going to be saying is 'Oh yes, Yang! Oh my gods, yes!'." I pinned her arms to the side so she couldn't take another swing at me and picked her up from the table. She tried to scratch at my arm but the sleeve was covering my skin.

"Let go of me Yang." I laughed and carried her away.

"Nah, let's go find an empty room. I have this fantasy about an empty classroom, you, and me." She was struggling and kicking so I finally put her down.

"That was not funny." she growled.

"Aw did I upset my wittle kitty?" She stormed away in a huff and I followed her.

"Come on Blake, I was only kidding." I was following her down a hallway while she ignored me. "You can't ignore me forever."

"I can try." I followed her through a set of double doors that led to a library. "This place is supposed to be quiet, maybe you should wait outside."

I frowned at her, she was really committing to this. "Fine, you win this round." I left her in the bookshelves and went looking for Weiss and Ruby. _Maybe they'll want to do something fun._ I quickly realized I had no idea where I was and couldn't find my way back to the library. I found a bench and sat down so I could message Ruby. _"Hey, I'm lost, can you come find me?"_ I set the scroll back down and waited for a reply. I watched a couple of students walk by, carrying bags and books and talking about whatever class they were coming from. Atlas was way bigger than Beacon, and everything looked similar. The hallways were neat and uniform and the doors were all the same style, the only difference being the number etched into each door. The Scroll buzzed with a message. _"Yeah, sit tight. Weiss and I will come find you."_ I sat around and waited on Ruby and Weiss, I had no idea how they planned to track me down.

"Hi, you're Yang, right?" A boy maybe around my age or a little younger approached me, he was in a school uniform.

"Yeah, do I know you?" He shook his head.

"We didn't officially meet but I was one of the students in Professor Argent's medical class this morning. My name's Lukas Verde." So he was one of the kids who ran those stupid tests.

"Nice to meet you. You already know my name." He stood nervously. "Do you want to sit down?"

He nodded and sat on the opposite end of the bench. "So... were you and your team really at Beacon during the Fall?" I nodded, flashing back. The Grimm, the terror, The White Fang... Adam.

"Yeah, we were there. It was... awful." I looked down at the cold yellow and black metal.

"I'm sorry to hear about that. It must have been traumatizing." I nodded.

"It was, everybody lost something that night." I lifted my right arm up and wiggled my fingers. "Some more than others." I brought my arm back down and rested it in my lap.

"That's Atlas tech, right?" I nodded.

"Yeah, its manufacture overseen by Ironwood himself."

"Yang!" I looked off to my left and saw Ruby waving her hand, her red and white hair bobbing back and forth, Weiss was walking right next to her.

"There's my sister and her partner. I'll see you around Lukas." I got up and joined Ruby and Weiss.

"Where's Blake?" Ruby asked.

Weiss lightly elbowed her in the side. "What did I say?"

I shook my head and laughed. "She's in the library. I annoyed her a little too much."

Weiss sighed. "I swear neither of you two know how to treat a lady." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"And you do? Blake may get annoyed but she still loves me. Just like you still love Ruby." The red in her face really stood out against her white hair.

"Oh shut up you brute."

"Hey last time I checked me being a brute saved us on more than one occasion." Ruby put her headphones on to ignore us as Weiss and I bickered down the hallway.

"Some problems can't be solved by just punching them away, Yang."

My voice dropped to a whisper. "You think I don't know that?" She didn't respond, a look of concern on her face. "I got us disqualified from the Vytal Festival because I tried to punch the problem away. Regardless of what everyone else saw, I saw Mercury lunge at me and my first instinct was to break his leg instead of dodging and letting the officials sort it out."

"Yang I didn't mean-"

"I lost my arm because I saw Blake get hurt and my first reaction was to attack Adam, not rescue Blake. I have a broken arm right now because I tried to fight my way out of Neo's base instead of just sitting tight and waiting for a rescue. I know every problem can't be solved just by punching it… because I know what happens when it doesn't work."

"Yang, that's not what I meant and you know it." It didn't matter how she meant it, she was still right. "You're a great person, and a great Huntress, because even if you charge in recklessly you're doing it to help others. We just don't want to see you get hurt anymore." I know she was trying to help, but it was only making me feel worse.

I laid my hand on her shoulder. "Can we just… go do something fun?"

Weiss nodded and pulled Ruby's headphones off. "We're done arguing dork. Yang wants to do something fun, so let's go shopping. After all, even if Winter is currently the one taking care of everything, I am the future president of the Schnee Dust Company."

This was news to me. "When did this happen?"

Ruby chimed in quickly. "Last week. Seeing as Weiss is still too young and is still in school, the board chose to appoint Winter as their Dad's aid until Weiss can take control."

I turned from Ruby to Weiss. "Your dad is still running things?"

She thought about it for a second. "In a way, yes. But he must run all of his ideas and actions by Winter first and she has to okay them before it happens. If he chooses to disobey the board's orders they will remove him from the company entirely and turn it over to Winter until I can take over. He's not happy about the arrangement, but at this point there's nothing left he can do. The best he or Whitley can hope for is that they prove to me that they are trustworthy enough to work for me someday, harsh as that may sound."

I smiled a little. "Well I'm happy that everything worked out for you. But how will the world react to Madam President and her wife Madam Other President?" I teased. Both Ruby's and Weiss's face burned crimson at my remark.

"Yang, you are the worst!" Ruby huffed.

"I'm starting to think maybe I should just leave you behind while Ruby and I go shopping instead."

I grabbed them both by the shoulders and pulled them in. "Now will Ruby be Missus Rose-Schnee, or will Weiss be Missus Schnee-Rose?"

My punishment for teasing both of them was to carry all the shopping bags while we were out. I currently had eight hanging from my arms and Ruby was about to add two more. "I already said I was sorry, can one of you please carry some of these?" Ruby ignored me as she placed another bag around each of my arms.

"Come on Weiss let's go there next." Ruby said excitedly, pointing to a store on the mall map.

"I don't know Ruby, that's a long way to walk when you're carrying ten bags. I don't think Yang can make it."

I glared at her as she smirked my way." This isn't funny anymore. I'm tired, and Blake's gonna be mad at me if she finds out I left campus."

Weiss sighed. "She does have a point Ruby. We should head back." Weiss grabbed her by the hood as she tried to run away.

"But I don't wanna go back yet. I'm not done shopping."

"If I'm done shopping, then you're done shopping. You don't have any money." Ruby pouted as Weiss dragged her towards the exit with me following close behind them. A car was waiting for us at the curb and I put the bags in the trunk. Theo was driving again.

"Will we be heading back to the manor?" He asked.

Weiss shook her head as she got in the car. "No, we need to return to the academy and after that if it's not too much trouble I'd like you to take our bags back to the manor."

He smiled at us in the rear-view mirror and nodded. "Of course, Mistress Schnee." We rode in silence back to the academy.

"Oh no." I groaned. As we were pulling up to the front of the academy I could see Blake standing on the steps, watching our car approach.

"She's going to be so mad at you." Ruby sang.

"Tell me about it." We pulled up and I got out of the car, Ruby and Weiss following. "Look, I know you didn't want me to leave campus, but I was with Ruby and Weiss and all we did was go shopping so please don't be mad at me. I even bought you something."

I looked at her with the puppy-dog eyes I learned from Ruby until she finally gave in and smiled. "I'm not mad. I'm a little annoyed you didn't listen to me but you were responsible and stayed with Ruby and Weiss so I can't really fault you. Just next time let me know, okay?"

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah okay." Theo shut the doors of the car and drove off.

"So, where's my present?" I pointed to the car as it disappeared from sight.

"There it goes. Don't worry though, it'll be waiting at Weiss' when we get back." She looked a little disappointed that she wouldn't be getting right now. I smacked her butt as I ran past her and up the rest of the stairs. "Come on, there's still stuff we can do here."

She jolted at my touch and turned on me. "Yang, get back here! That was incredibly inappropriate!" I laughed and ran down the hallway as she chased after me, Ruby and Weiss not far behind. It wasn't much, but it was a break from all the world ending threats. To just have fun like we did back at Beacon… we needed this.

It was getting dark out. We claimed a table in the cafeteria and were all eating dinner. "Today could've been worse, I guess." I ignored Blake's grouchy mood and took a bite of my chicken.

"Hey, just admit that you enjoyed yourself. I mean watching you and Ruby take those two guys in a training match was pretty awesome." Earlier we were paged and asked to sit in on a combat lesson. What it actually turned out to be was more of a sparring match then a simple lesson. They had heard we were actually at Beacon during the Fall, it kind of makes us celebrities but not in a 'fame-and-fortune' kind of way. I still couldn't fight because of my broken arm so instead of a four versus four style match it was a two versus two. Since Weiss and I had gotten the chance to show off during the Vytal Festival we decided to let Blake and Ruby have a go. They did really well. Blake made use of her new upgrades to Gambol Shroud and showed off how much she's trained her Semblance. She can make clones that are able to take a few hits before disappearing and can make at least two at a time from what I saw.

Ruby on the other hand went a little overboard. She tested out every new feature of Crescent Rose, which includes a new fully automatic rifle mode, individual Dust chambers to bypass the need to switch out different types of Dust infused ammo, and a new function that allows Crescent Rose to split into a large scythe and a smaller off-hand blade for defense, which can be used even if Crescent Rose is in Scythe, Sniper, or Rifle mode. Her Semblance was the most interesting though. She's gotten more control over her speed and instead of being one large blur of rose petals she can appear to split into at least three different bursts of petals. I asked her about it and she said that she doesn't actually split but more so just bounces back and forth from those locations at incredible speeds which makes it appear that there are three bursts of petals when in reality Ruby is just moving too fast to keep up with. I had seen it already but even Weiss' Semblance has changed and gotten better since Beacon, the only one that hasn't… is mine.

Thinking about it I wasn't sure if it was even possible for my Semblance to improve. I store energy from the hits I take and turn that into raw power. The only thing I can do to improve it is to improve my overall endurance. Dad was right about what he said, my Semblance is basically just me throwing a temper tantrum. But there had to be more right? Maybe I needed to start exploring the nature of my Semblance.

"What are you thinking about?" Blake's voice brought me back to the present as I stared at my chicken.

"Huh?"

She asked again. "What are you thinking about? You zoned out for a minute, it looked like you were deep in thought."

Ruby laughed. "Yang? Deep in thought? Yeah right."

I flicked a pea at her and it bounced off her forehead. "Don't be a brat Ruby, I'm smarter than I let on."

This time it was Weiss who laughed. "If you're so smart than why do you act dumb?"

I had the perfect response saved for a question like this. "Because who doesn't love a dumb blonde with big boobs?" This time it was my turn to laugh at the clueless expressions on Ruby and Weiss. I rubbed up against Blake, teasing her. "I know Blake does."

She pulled away. "Yang, we're eating. This is hardly the place for that. And answer me, what were you thinking about?"

I didn't know if I wanted to tell them, it would just sound like I'm complaining. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing really." Blake grabbed my hand and I stopped talking.

She looked at Ruby and Weiss and then me. "You all told me once that if I had a problem I need to come to all of you and talk first. Tell us what's wrong Yang."

My hand started shaking slightly but Blake's comforting squeeze steadied it. "It's just… seeing you three and how far you've come, makes me feel like I haven't made any progress. Like I'm going to get left behind. Ruby has basically mastered all of Crescent Rose's new functions. You and Weiss have both adapted to the upgrades to Gambol Shroud and Myrtenaster. And all three of you have made significant leaps when it comes to your Semblances. Meanwhile I keep getting hurt and falling into traps. Dad told me and Ruby that a team is only as strong as its weakest link… right now that's me. I'm happy that we're together again, as a team and a family. But if I'm the one holding us back… then I shouldn't be here."

Ruby jumped up from the table and slapped me across the face, tears in her eyes. "Don't talk like that!" People at the tables around us stopped eating and looked our way. "You are a part of Team RWBY, you help hold us all together. No one else can take your place and we wouldn't have it any other way. You're my teammate and my family. We all love you for who you are, not what you can do. So quit talking like you're not important or like you can be replaced!" I held my hand up to my face, fighting back tears. Her words hurt more than the slap to my face.

She stormed off in tears, Weiss getting up to follow her. "Ruby, wait!"

Blake got up from the table. "I'm going to follow them." Just like that I was alone. It felt like every pair of eyes in the cafeteria were on me. _Damn, why do I always mess things up?_ I clenched my fists, holding back and anger and tears.

I lost it and slammed my fists on the table, leaving a crack where my right hand struck. I got up and ran off in the opposite direction of the others and burst through the first set of double doors I found, running off into the snow. I ran, and ran, and ran, trying to outrun my problems. _Why do I always do this? Why can't I keep my mouth shut? Why can't I just be better?_ I tripped and fell face first into the snow. I landed hard on my left arm but picked myself and kept running. I wanted to stop, I wanted to turn around, but my body wouldn't let me.

I bobbed and weaved past trees as the open snowy field turned into a forest. I tripped again, falling into a deep snowdrift. I slowly climbed out of it, brushing the snow off my clothes and out of my hair. I couldn't see the academy behind me, but I could hear cars nearby. I followed the sound until I found a road that cut through the forest. Every few seconds a car would pass by, completely ignoring the figure standing alongside the road. I pulled the Scroll out and debated calling Blake or Ruby when a car pulled up and stopped in front of me. The door opened and a figure got out.

"Yang? Is that you?" I recognized Theo's voice immediately. "What are you doing out here, you're supposed to be at the academy." The cold night air howled as he walked around to the other side of the car and opened up the door for me. "Get in. You're not dressed to be out in the cold." I got in the passenger seat and he closed the door. I was wet, cold, and shivering. He turned the heat on high when he got back in the driver's seat and pulled back out onto the road. "Why are you out in this storm?"

I didn't know what to tell him so I just shrugged. "Why are you out this late?" I asked.

"I was running errands for Mister Klein. You're lucky I found you, you could've froze out there!" I leaned against the door and looked out the window, the heat helping to stop the shivering but not doing much to dry my clothes or hair. "Why were you out in the storm Yang?" His voice was different this time, more demanding.

"I… don't know."

"Bull!" He wasn't going to give up until he got a satisfactory answer.

"I got into a fight with Ruby."

"So you decided to run out in the middle of a snow storm?" He immediately fired back.

"No… I mean yes… I mean…" I didn't know what to tell him. "Ruby yelled at me, stormed off, and Weiss and Blake followed her! I got mad and ran off in the other direction! I didn't care where, I just wanted to get out of there!"

He raised his voice. "Running off and getting yourself killed will not solve an argument!"

I got mad and yelled back at him. "Why do you even care? I'm not your responsibility, I'm not a Schnee!"

"To Weiss you are!" I didn't yell back, I didn't know what to say. Theo composed himself and spoke quieter. "Klein and I talk regularly while at the manor. He told me that Weiss holds you, Ruby, and Blake closer to her heart than her own family, save for Winter and her mother. To Weiss you and your team are her family, which means that you all of you are my responsibility while you are here." He pressed a button on the console and I heard a dial tone come through the speakers. It rang a few times before someone answered.

A sigh came through the line before I heard Ironwood's voice. "Yes Jacques?" The company cars must all dial out from Weiss' dad's number.

"Sorry to bother you General. My name is Theo Grey, I work for the Schnee family. I am on my way to the academy with one of the young mistress' friends. Could you have someone meet us at the entrance with a warm towel and some dry clothes? They appear to have fallen down in the snow once or twice."

There was a pause on the other end and then another sigh. "It's Yang, isn't it?" The disappointment in his voice came through loud and clear.

"Yes." I responded. "How did you know?"

"That medical sleeve has a tracker in it. I know when you're not on campus." I didn't say anything back. "I'll have someone waiting for you. Just get her back here safe. And thank you." He hung up and I sat in silence as Theo drove me back.

We pulled up to the front of the academy and I could see Weiss and Ruby standing on the steps, the lights illuminating them. Theo got out and came around, opening the door for me. Weiss handed me a warm blanket and Ruby just turned around and went inside without saying anything. "Blake didn't want to see you, Ruby doesn't want to talk to you, and I am also disappointed." Her voice was steady and even as it cut me down. "Thank you so much Theo, I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't have happened by." Weiss grabbed me by the arm lightly and led me up the stairs. "What were you thinking?" She asked. Not her voice or her face gave away any emotion.

"I wasn't."

"Clearly." Ruby had already disappeared from sight, leaving me and Weiss alone in the hallway.

"I was mad at Ruby, I was mad at myself, I tried to keep calm and I couldn't so I just started running." I had never felt as horrible as I was feeling in this moment.

"You know how I said punching couldn't solve all your problems? Well running doesn't solve them either." We had entered the dorm area and stopped in front of my room. "Go in there, and don't come out until morning." I nodded silently and stepped inside. I could hear Weiss' heels clicking as she walked away. There was a stack of dry pajamas sitting on the bed. I changed into them and crawled under the covers. I felt nothing, not sadness, anger, disappointment… nothing. Because Weiss was right, and Blake was right, and Ruby was right. I haven't been acting like a part of the family, haven't been acting like a teammate, a friend, or a girlfriend. I have been acting like selfish brat. They were right to be angry, mad, disappointed, whatever. I quietly cried into the pillow, until I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to the pressure being relieved from my left arm. I rubbed my eyes but my face felt puffy and raw. Lukas had the sleeve in his hand. "Good morning. Your arm is all healed so you don't need this sleeve anymore." I looked at the clock but it read one in the afternoon. "Your team told me that they, along with Team SSSN were heading back to the Schnee Manor, and that when you're ready to leave that Theo would be at the entrance waiting for you. Also, before you leave Professor Ironwood would like a word." Lukas was smiling and trying to be friendly but not much was going to help my mood right now. I thanked him and asked him to leave so I could shower and get ready. I folded the pajamas and put them in the little drawstring bag they had left for me. _They're still so mad they don't even want to see me._ I showered, brushed my teeth and hair, and went to Ironwood's office.

I did what Blake had done yesterday and knocked and announced myself. "Yang Xiao Long." The doors opened and Ironwood was sitting at his desk, waiting for me. He said nothing as I sat down across from him, his face expressionless just like Weiss' was last night.

"Look if you're going to lecture me, then just save it. I heard it from Theo and Weiss and I'm probably going to hear it from Qrow when I get to the manor." I sat and waited for a response.

"It's not my job to lecture, only to teach. Your team and friends had thought you had learned your lesson but clearly that is not the case. All I'm going to tell you is that Huntsmen and Huntresses are put on teams so that they can rely and depend on one another. When teams have arguments or disagreements they talk it out, they don't fight or run off or act like children. But that's not why I wanted to talk with you."

I looked up from his desk and met his gaze. "I managed to contact your father and I let him know that you and Ruby were doing fine. He asked me to pass along that he loves you both and that you need to look out for one another."

I nodded and stood up. "Will that be all?" I asked. "They're only upset with you because they know you're better than this. You're smart, I know you are. Ozpin has a lot of faith in you and your friends. He believes that you all can change the world, so do I." He stood up and walked around the desk and offered his hand.

I took it and shook. "Thanks, General."

He nodded and gave me a kind smile. "They will forgive you, once you show them that you are as great as they believe you to be." He led me to the door. "I'll walk you out."

Ironwood escorted me down the front steps to the awaiting car. The storm from last night had left a thick layer of snow on the ground but it was completely clear from all the sidewalks and roads. "Remember what we talked about Yang."

I nodded. "Yeah, I will."

Ironwood turned to Theo as I got in the car. "Make sure she gets there safely."

Theo nodded and shook Ironwood's hand. "Will do General, you can count on me." Theo got in the car and we drove off. "How are you feeling today?" Theo asked.

"Better, I'm still upset with myself but I'm trying to not let it get to me." He nodded.

"Good, one's self is usually their biggest obstacle." I thought about what he had told me. _Am I the one holding myself back?_ "Even though they're upset, they are still worried about you."

I sighed into the window, fogging it up. "I know. I really let them down this time." _Be as great as they believe you to be._ I kept repeating Ironwood's words over and over in my mind.

"Just give them time. They'll forgive you." Theo was right, but how much time did they need?

We pulled up to the front of Weiss' place and I got out, my bag slung over my shoulder. "Thanks for the ride, Theo."

"My pleasure Yang." He drove back down the alley and pulled off to the garage.

I walked up the front steps and pushed the door open with a loud creak as it swung inwards. The foyer was empty and silent, the only thing in the air was the smell of food. I walked over to the dining room and peeked inside. Everyone, including Sun, Sage, Scarlet, and Neptune, were sitting at the table eating. I walked past the doorway and headed for the stairs, taking the steps as quietly as possible. I walked the familiar path back to the room that I shared with Blake and stepped inside. The bag with the gift I had bought her was sitting on the bed, next to a pair of bumblebee slippers. I walked over to the dresser and slipped my bag of my shoulder, setting it down taking the chance to look in the mirror. All my cuts and bruises were gone, it was like they weren't even there to begin with. "You gonna come join us?" Sun was standing in the doorway, smiling his usual goofy smile.

"How'd you know I was here?" I sat on the bed and took my boots off.

"We all heard the front door open, we just guessed it was you."

I set the comfy bumblebees on the ground and slipped them on. "I think I'll pass. I don't think they want to see me right now. I'm actually a little surprised you came to see me, seeing as Blake and I are…"

He laughed and shrugged. "Yeah, I admit I had a thing for Blake. I thought she may have liked me back, but the way she talked about you when we were on Menagerie I knew her heart was set on you."

I looked at him questioningly. "And you're not upset?"

He shook his head. "Why would I be? My friends are happy, why can't that be enough?"

I smiled at his optimistic attitude. "How'd Neptune take it though?" I asked. "He had a thing for Weiss, right?"

Sun nodded. "He's a little mopey but he'll get over it. So, are you gonna come eat with us?"

I shook my head. "Not right now. I'm going to take a little walk around the place. I need to think about what I'm going to say to them."

Sun nodded, "Well if you do get hungry, there is plenty of food." He turned and headed back for the dining room.

I waited for his footsteps to fade before I got up and went out into the hallway. It was amazing how quiet it was in this place, but I liked it. I could think without being distracted. I slowly walked past the doors and windows that lined the hall. I stopped when I heard the tinkling of glass come from one of the open doors of a lounge. I walked inside and found one of the workers pouring a glass of wine for an older woman with pure white hair. She was dressed in business casual wear that was solid silver. She looked a lot like Winter and Weiss but she kept her hair short and neat. _This must be Weiss' mom._ "Hello dear, you must be one of Weiss' friends." I nodded and she patted the seat of the chair next to her. "Come sit down." I took the seat next to her and was handed a glass of water. "I'm Marion, I'm Weiss' and Winter's mother. May I ask for your name?" She took a sip from her glass and set it down on the end table between us.

"My name is Yang, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She laughed lightly. "The pleasure is mine dear. I'm sorry we couldn't meet when you all arrived, what was it, two weeks ago now? I was on a business trip. I actually just got back yesterday." She had an air of confidence and grace about her, something which I sorely lacked. "The little girl with black and red hair, or should I say black, red, white, and light blue now. She's your sister correct?"

I nodded. "Yes, Ruby is my sister."

Marion smiled and sighed, "Ah I saw her and my daughter on the news. She's just so adorable, she must be really special if she can make Weiss smile." Compared to Jacques reaction, Marion's was rather refreshing.

"Yeah, Ruby is a special girl." Marion nodded in agreement.

"That must have really upset Jacques too. I'm so sorry if he upset anyone of you. The arrogant fool." The light airiness to her voice was replaced by rough bitterness but soon returned when the subject was changed. "I hear you're quite the little trouble maker."

I sighed and took a drink from my water. "You heard about that?"

She nodded, "Yes, I spoke with Weiss this morning and she told me that there would be another young woman joining us at some point today. She told me why you would be showing up late, but she still expressed some concern for you." So she was disappointed and concerned. _What a great combination._ "Friendship was never easy for Weiss. She never had many other kids to play with here, and her father liked to prop her up on a pedestal so much that she never really had the chance to be a kid or learn how to form meaningful connections with people, other than myself and Winter of course. She's an entirely different person now though, and I have you and your friends to thank for that. I was amazed that she had the courage to stand up for herself and out Jacques to the public like that. I'm glad to see she's found people she can connect with."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah but believe me, she didn't make it easy for us. She warmed up to us though and opened up bit by bit."

A knocking on the lounge door interrupted us. Weiss, was standing there waiting patiently. "Hello mother, I have brought someone I would like you to meet." Weiss quickly glanced at me, an uneasy look on her face.

I set my glass down and stood. "I think I better go, I enjoyed speaking with you."

Marion smiled and took my hand. "It was a pleasure dear. If you would like to come talk again I'll be staying home for a few weeks before my next trip." I smiled back as she let my hand go, some of my nervousness melting away. I slid past Weiss and saw Ruby waiting just outside of view from Marion. She reached out to me for a second but quickly pulled her hand away. _She's still upset._

I put my hand on Weiss' shoulder and leaned in close so Ruby couldn't hear me. "She already thinks Ruby's amazing." A small smile and bit of pink lit up her face before she grabbed Ruby's hand and led her into the lounge.

I smiled and continued down the hallway, the conversation with Marion greatly improving my mood. I now understood why Weiss thought so highly of her. Even from just our short conversation I could tell she was an amazing, kind, and loving mother. _If only my mom could've been like that._ I wandered the empty hallways, trying to figure out what I could say to Ruby, Blake, and Weiss.

"Ahem." I stopped and turned back, seeing Klein approaching. "The other guests have finished dining and Weiss has instructed me to escort you to the dining hall so that you may eat." She knew I didn't want to eat with everyone so she waited until they were gone and had Klein come get me. _Smooth Weiss, very smooth._ I agreed and followed Klein as he led me back to the foyer. "I hear you met Mistress Marion. She's a fine woman isn't she."

I nodded. "Yes, we had a pleasant conversation."

Klein chuckled to himself. "Yes, the mistress can hold quite a conversation, can't she. I'm glad she's returned from her trip, it greatly improved Weiss' mood when she found out." I knew what Klein was doing, he was keeping a conversation going to try to get me to feel better. He knew that he was talking to himself more than he was talking to me. We finally got back to the foyer and he stopped right outside of the dining hall. "The food is still warm. Help yourself to as much as you like."

"Thanks, I will." He offered a slight bow and strode away. I sat down at the one spot of the table that was still set with a plate and silverware. I filled my glass with water and filled my plate with vegetables and pasta. I ate in silence, finally deciding on what I was going to say to them when the sound of clicking heels filled the hall. I glanced towards the door as Weiss was striding over to me. She pulled a chair out next to me and sat down.

"My mother seems to have taken a liking to both Ruby and you." I nodded and ate my dinner. "So, are we going to talk about last night, or are you going to ignore me in my own home?" _Well that was forward._ I set my fork down and stared at my plate.

"What's there to talk about? I ran off like a child and could've froze because I was upset that I hurt my sister. Not only did I hurt my sister, but I severely upset Blake, upset Ruby even more than she already was, and I disappointed you. You guys had every right to be mad at me, I deserved it. Blake tried to tell me yesterday I need to start thinking about everyone else, and she's right. _I_ took off and ran because _I_ was upset. I didn't think to try and go talk to Ruby first, to get her to calm down. No, I thought that I was upset so I did something stupid."

I sat and waited for a response, not lifting my gaze. "You told us yesterday that you were smarter than you let on. Why don't you act like it then? I don't like being upset with you, with any of you. But you constantly make us worry about you. I'm not going to pretend like running off into a storm didn't happen, or that it wasn't stupid. I understand when you get so frustrated you just feel like you need to run from whatever it is that's bothering you, but Blake was right. We told her that she needed to talk to us about anything bothering her. I didn't think we need to tell you that too. Ruby's not without fault on this either. She's not talking to you because she's embarrassed and upset with herself for overreacting, not because you ran off in the middle of a storm. In all honesty I think Blake is the only one who is legitimately upset with you, and she should be."

She cupped my face in her hands and turned me so I was looking at her and gently pressed her forehead to mine. "I'm not upset with you anymore, I understand that stupid things can happen when you're upset and not thinking properly. But I need you to promise me right now that if anything is on your mind you'll talk to one of us. I don't care how small or unimportant it is, one of us will listen. And I need you to promise that you won't runoff again, I don't care how mad or upset you are, or whatever the situation. You can't do that anymore, now promise me."

I looked up from the floor and met her blue eyes. "I promise."

She smiled and slowly pulled away. "Good. Now finish your dinner and go find Ruby. You both need to talk this one out."

I nodded and picked up my fork. "Yeah… we do." Weiss sat and talked with me until I finished eating, easing a lot of the doubt that was bothering me. "Weiss."

"Yes, Yang?"

…

"Thank you."


	22. Fixing What's Broken

I found Ruby lying on the floor in one of the lounges reading comic books. I tried to say something but I didn't even know where to start. I got tired of trying and just knocked on the door. She jumped up, startled, when she realized it was me. "Can we… talk?" I asked tentatively. I waited until she slowly nodded before taking a seat in one of the chairs. "I want to know what you're thinking, Ruby. I want to know your honest feelings about last night, and about… me." She sat on the floor and took a deep breath.

"I'm mad. I'm mad that you think you're not an important part of this team, this family. I'm mad that you keep getting hurt or are put in situations that can get you hurt. I'm mad that you ran off into a storm because I hit you and got upset with you. I'm mad that you could've died last night and didn't think about us once… but I'm also sad. I'm sad that you think you're not important or not good enough, that you keep getting hurt or get put in danger, that you could've died and just didn't seem to care. I'm happy too though." Her voice was fluctuating so much I wasn't sure if she was going to start crying or yelling. "I'm happy that you care enough to be worried about holding us back. I'm happy that every time you get hurt or end up in danger you make it back to us and get better. I'm happy you didn't die last night. I'm happy that you're my sister Yang." I expected yelling. I expected angry outbursts, crying, and everything in between. I didn't expect a calm conversation. "Now I want to know how you feel."

"I'm mad at myself. I'm mad that I seem to be the only one who's not improving, the one who's actually getting worse. I'm mad that I feel like I can't talk about my problems to anyone when all they want to do is help me. I'm also sad. I'm sad that I hurt my team with my reckless actions. I'm sad I hurt my sister. I'm sad that I'm not being a good sister, friend, or girlfriend to the most important people in my life. I'm sad that even after everything I've went through, the struggles I've overcome, and the lessons I learned, that my mother is still out of reach from me." She wasn't crying, but she really wanted to, I did as well. "But like you I'm also happy. I'm happy that against all odds I left home on my own and found not only you but Weiss and Blake too. I'm happy that everyone made it out of Haven in one piece. I'm happy that I didn't die when I was with Neo or last night, because now I got to have this conversation with you and Weiss, and soon with Blake. And Blake… I'm happy that I could tell her my real feelings, and that she felt the same way, and that even with all my stupid decisions she still hasn't left. I'm happy she's my girlfriend and I hope she knows how lucky I feel." I moved from the chair to the floor and pulled Ruby in close. "I'm so sorry."

"I forgive you, Yang. I'm sorry that I hit you." We hugged and got off the floor. I saw Ruby's eyes look past me and turned around. Blake was in the doorway but as soon as I saw her she walked away. "I wanted to tell you she was there but you would've been distracted, and probably wouldn't have been completely honest either. I hope she forgives you soon." I sighed and turned back to Ruby.

"Yeah, me to. Let's go find Weiss and tell her we talked things out." I picked Ruby up and gave her a piggy-back ride down the hallway. "Pretty soon you're gonna be too big for this." She lightly pressed her knees into my side in protest.

"How dare you, I will be small and dainty forever." There was still tension between us, and there probably would be for a little while. The important part was we talked it out, and now we understood each other's feelings. _Two down, the emotional rock to go._ We found Weiss reading over documents downstairs. Ruby jumped off my back and ran over to her. "Hey Weiss, Yang and I talked it out. And you owe me twenty Lien! Neither of us cried." _They had a bet?_

She set the papers down on the table. "And?" I looked at Weiss, then Ruby, then back to Weiss. _Is she talking to me or Ruby, better yet is she talking about their bet or our talk._ She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "How did the talk go?"

I locked eyes with Ruby and smiled. "It went well. Better than I expected. I asked Ruby to tell me how she felt. Then she asked me how I felt and we both apologized. I think we better understand each other now. Oh, and neither of us cried." Weiss sighed and grabbed some Lien from her wallet and handed it to Ruby.

"If I find out either of you are lying we are going to have some words." I laughed and gave them both a hug. "I know it's nice and all that you two have made up but I really need to get back to these." I grabbed one of the papers from the table and looked it over. There were a lot of numbers and graphs along with some quick descriptions or explanations typed up. She had them in two separate piles, one substantially larger than the other.

"What are these?" I asked, grabbing a couple more. They all looked really similar but each one of them was different from the last. The only thing really sticking out about any of these were dates printed at the top of each page.

"Business reports. I had Winter send these so I could start going over them." I picked up another one that was a few pages stapled together. This one was a majority words and paragraphs and had very few numbers and no graphs. "This isn't all of them, I hope to go through all the reports spanning from when my father first became president and CEO of the company."

"I mean I get why you're doing it," Ruby started, "but what are you looking for?" I get that she wants to know as much as she can about how her father ran the company, but this was a lot of reports to get through. I set the papers back down, taking care to not knock the large stack over.

"Do you know where Qrow's at Weiss?" I decided that talking to Qrow was the better option for right now. I knew I need to talk to Blake but I was still unsure of how to approach her. Weiss sat back down and picked up one of the documents, waving her free hand off to the left.

"He's down the hall." I thanked her and left her with Ruby. I hadn't even left the room and Ruby was already asking Weiss a lot of questions about the reports. I went the way Weiss told me and found Qrow sitting at a bar with Sun, both of them laughing away as the lady behind the bar filled Qrow's glass. I took a seat next to Qrow and waited for him to notice me.

"Yang, I'm glad you're here. I have to say, I wasn't so sure about bringing in four more people. But this monkey kid, Sun, he's amazing." I could slightly smell the alcohol on Qrow's breath. He was definitely feeling it.

"Yang, your uncle is awesome. He was telling me these stories about some of his missions and the places he's been." The lady behind the bar slid a glass in front of Sun and he grabbed it with his tail. I looked at the lady questioningly but she smiled and shook her head. _Good, I don't need two drunk fools._

"Sun I'm glad that you're getting along with Qrow, but I need to speak to him. Can you leave for a bit?" Sun nodded and took his drink with him. I didn't even need to ask the lady as she quietly followed Sun out of the lounge. "Qrow I know you're drunk but we need to talk."

He set his drink down, his face suddenly serious. "I'm not drunk. I'm getting there but I'm not drunk." He quickly knocked the last bit of liquid in his glass. "Weiss told me what happened last night. What the hell were you thinking?" _Here's the grilling form Qrow that I expected._ "You could've died out in that snow storm, what would I have told Tai? Right now, all of you kids are my responsibility, but I can't look after all of you all the time. That's why I thought I could trust you all to look out for one another. I didn't think you'd end up like Raven." He was angry, I expected that much. What I didn't expect was for him to bring up Mom.

"I'm not like Mom. Look I know I screwed up, that I broke your trust, and Ruby's, Weiss', and Blake's. I just want to make it better!" I didn't mean to yell at him, but it just came out. I looked away embarrassed and waited for him to say something.

"You're grounded. You're not allowed to leave the property and if you go outside you have to have someone with you. You want to fix this?" I nodded without looking at him. "Then prove you can be responsible and follow the rules that I've just set." I nodded again. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Look, I love you Yang. I just don't want you to end up like your mother."

"I love you too Qrow. And don't worry, I'll never forget about family." He reached for his glass but it was empty. I got up and walked around to the other side of the bar. "Here, let me fill that up." He shook his head and waved me off.

"No, it's fine, I'd rather have that pretty little lady who was here earlier pour me another one." I reached over the counter and punched him in the arm. "Yeah, her and Sun make for some pretty good company." He laughed so I threw some water in his face. "What the hell Yang?"

"We're guests here. If I find out you've sexually harassing all the female help, I swear I will end you." I threw him a towel from behind the counter. "Clean yourself up." He wiped his face and the counter in front of him and threw the wet towel at me. I caught it and left it sitting on the counter. "And for the love of gods do not try to sweet talk Weiss' mother." I poured myself a shot and quickly downed it.

"Hey, you're not old enough to be drinking." I recoiled at the bitter taste. "Not use to a man's drink?" He laughed and I poured myself another shot. "Okay, take it easy there." I knocked it back and set the glass down. The second wasn't as bad and it made my stomach feel really warm.

"I've got to talk with Blake next. It might not go over well so I thought I better prepare myself." I rinsed the glass out in the sink and set it upside down to dry. "I don't see how you can drink that stuff. It tastes awful." I grabbed a mint from a little bowl on the counter and popped it in my mouth.

"Years of bad decision making. Eventually you just get accustomed to it." He reached out and grabbed the bottle. "Plus, this is some of the good stuff, so it's stronger than your average store-bought whiskey. This is more than just top shelf." He filled his glass and set the bottle down. "Go talk to Blake. She's probably waiting for you somewhere around here." _Probably in one of the libraries._

"I'll let Sun and the bartender know they can come back in." I grabbed his glass and pulled it away from. "And go easy on the drinks." I gave him the glass back and left the lounge. Even with the mint I still had a lingering taste of the whiskey. Sun and the bartender were one room over, talking about something. "Hey, I'm done talking to Qrow, you can go back in if you want." Sun nodded.

"Everything okay?" I nodded and smiled, getting a smile out of Sun. "Good, if you need to talk about anything let me know." He grabbed his drank and waited for the bartender to get up. "Lady's first." She smiled and blushed but didn't say anything back. He looked at me and grinned but I just rolled my eyes. "A guy's gotta try!"

I went up the stairs and started checking the libraries. The chairs and couches were empty as I checked room after room. I pushed the last door open, ready to give up looking. I gave a quick glance around the room and noticed Blakes pointy cat ears poking up above the back of a chair. "Blake?" The right ear flicked a bit at my voice. "Can we talk please?" I heard a page turning but she didn't respond. "If you don't want to say anything that's fine. Just let me talk." My left hand was shaking bad and I could feel my heart beating away in my chest. "I know that I messed up… badly. You had just told me earlier that day about doing stupid things and making you and everyone else worry, but I didn't listen. I know that you have to be mad at me and disappointed, you have every right to be. I want to be better, I want you to still be there for me if I need to talk about anything. I want you to be there to tell me if I'm being stupid, or acting like a brat. I know we can't just pretend like what I did wasn't stupid, and that just because I made it back okay doesn't mean that everything is forgiven. I'm going to try to be better, for you, Ruby, Weiss, our friends, and myself. I fucked up, and I understand if you don't want me being a problem for you anymore." I waited for a response but didn't get one. I felt a tear roll down my face and drop off, splashing against the hardwood floor. "That's all I wanted to say." I turned and quickly walked out of the library, fighting back tears. I passed Jaune who reached out to me and tried to say something but I shook him off and headed to the bedroom.

I got in and closed the door behind me. I slid to the ground and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm myself. _What did you think was going to happen? That she would just spring up, shout all is forgiven, and everything would be okay?_ I reached up, locked the door, and crawled over to the bed. I got up on the bed and laid down, face first into the pillows. "I deserve this." I told myself. My Scroll buzzed in my pocket but I just pulled it out and put it in the nightstand, ignoring whatever was on it. _I just need to go to sleep._ I looked over at the clock, it read seven thirty-three. "Ugh." It was going to be a long night.

I woke up as the covers were wrestled out from underneath me. I had no idea what time it was and my eyes were so tired I couldn't read the clock. I felt someone get into bed and pull the covers up and over me. An arm gently wrapped around my waist as Blake pressed herself into my back. "You'll always be my problem." I heard her whisper. I went back to sleep with a small smile on my face.

"Wake up Yang!" I felt a fist connect with my face. I opened my eyes and Neo was standing over me, her fist outstretched. "What, you didn't think this was over did you?" She punched me again. "We're just getting started." She kicked me in the chest, knocking me down. She knelt down and dug her knee into my stomach while she punched me over and over. "Its. Not. Over. Until. I. Say. So." She got off me but I couldn't get up, I was in so much pain. She grabbed her umbrella and pressed a button on the handle, a long metal spike extending from the tip. "Now it's over." She brought it speeding down and I watched as it pierced my heart.

I shot up in bed, my left hand digging into my chest. _It was just a nightmare Yang, get a hold of yourself._ "Yang?" I followed Blake's voice over to the bathroom. She had just come out, a towel wrapped around her body. "Is something wrong?" She came over and sat on the bed, pulling my hand away from my chest. I was breathing incredibly hard. She lightly tapped my face, trying to get my focus. "Come on, talk to me Yang." She took my left hand in both of hers.

"Nightmare." I managed to get out. "I had a nightmare… about Neo I think." She held my hand until I calmed down. My chest hurt from where my fingers were digging into it. "She was beating me. I couldn't fight back; my body wouldn't let me. Then she taunted me, right before she stabbed me in the heart." I hate having nightmares, they always shake me up really bad.

"Ironwood will find her, Yang. You don't need to worry about her." But I did need to worry. When she finds out Ruby is alive she'll try to kill her again, and probably try to kill me too. I leaned in closer to her but she pulled away. "I'm still mad at you." _Damn, I thought we were good._ I covered my eyes as she got dressed, trying to not make it worse. "I can't believe you'd be that stupid. We had just talked about that too. When are you going to grow up?" Unsurprisingly her words hurt the most. "I trusted you, and you really let me down."

I felt like a little girl being lectured by a parent after doing something bad. I couldn't meet her gaze, and I didn't want to at that. I sat there and took it as she lectured me for a few more minutes. When she was done I finally looked up; her face was sad, like it hurt her to stand there and tell me how stupid I acted. "Get cleaned up, and come down for breakfast. After that I think we need to have a talk as a team." She put her slippers on and went downstairs.

 _Yeah let's all talk as a team. That can't possibly go wrong._ I thought as I got in the shower. This talk was clearly going to be about me, and that made me nervous. I showered, dried off, and decided to put my hair up in a ponytail. I looked down at my right arm, a few drops of water still glistening on the smooth metal. I flicked my wrist and Ember Celica extended out and encased my right fist. I hadn't actually looked at Ember Celica since Ironwood had the modifications made. It was a little bulkier now with the new upgrades, it's deactivated form more of a wrist guard now than a bracelet. I flicked my wrist again, deactivating it and leaving the bathroom.

I opened up the dresser to grab clothes and found the bag that still had Blake's gift in it tucked in the corner of the drawer. _Oh yeah…_ Now probably wasn't the best time to give it to her, maybe after we got back on better terms. I got dressed and slipped my feet into the fuzzy bumblebee slippers that I've warmed up to.

I came out of my room at the same time Sage and Scarlet were headed down stairs. "Good morning guys. How'd you sleep?" They looked a little tired still, but they were carrying themselves well.

"A lot better now that Mercury actually goes to sleep." Sage said. "He kept us up every night on the ship over here because he thought the ship would sink while he was sleeping." Scarlet yawned loudly.

"Yeah but now that he's actually sleeping we can get caught up on our own." He reached his arms up into the air and clasped his hands together, stretching to the left and right. "How about you? We heard that there was a disagreement with your teammates."

"That's putting it mildly. But I slept fine. I've talked to them all individually and we're having a team meeting after breakfast." I shook my hands in the air sarcastically. "Yay." I dropped my hands to the side and Sage clapped me on the shoulder.

"It'll be fine. You four have a strong friendship. You think we haven't gotten into arguments before?" He grabbed Scarlet and pulled him into a playful head lock. "We get into arguments all the time. But we always work things out."

"Stop it, you're going to mess up my hair." Scarlet whined. He broke free of Sage's grip and ran his hands through his hair slowly and methodically. "It took me forever to get the wave just right this morning."

He was kind of like me in that regard, except he didn't fly into a rage if someone messed up his hair. I ran my hand along the banister as we came down the stairs. I could hear voices coming from the dining hall but it didn't sound like everyone was in there yet. Sage waited for Scarlett and me to enter before he followed us through the doorway. I took the empty chair next to Blake as Sage and Scarlett picked spots further down. I looked around the table. Qrow, Sun, Oscar, and Jaune weren't here yet.

I grabbed a biscuit and put eggs, cheese, and sausage on it, making a little breakfast sandwich. "Decided to go with a ponytail today?" Blake asked, flicking it with her finger. I took a bite of sandwich and nodded. "What made you decide that?" I shrugged.

"I like it. Makes me look professional. All I need now is a business suit." I preemptively made another breakfast sandwich, knowing I would eat more than one. "Why don't you ever do anything different with your hair?" I asked back.

"I do different stuff with my hair!" Ruby shouted excitedly.

"Yeah, I think everyone has noticed that by now Ruby." Weiss told her. She sipped from her coffee mug. "I do have to agree with Yang on this one though. You should change up your hair every now then, it's actually really fun." I noticed yesterday that Weiss had styled red stripes into her hair. They didn't stand out a lot, it was more a subtle adjustment. _I wonder if Ruby's noticed yet?_

Sun and Jaune entered the hall and took seats at the table, Qrow and Oscar still weren't here though. "Morning everyone!" Sun greeted cheerfully. Jaune still looked half asleep, he must have had a rough night.

"What's wrong with you Jaune?" Nora asked. He glared at her as he placed a pile of pancakes on his plate and drowned them in syrup.

"Oh you know. I only got about two hours of sleep because of your snoring!" He turned to his plate and grumpily ate pancakes. I looked around at everyone on the table. We were all here eating breakfast and having fun, but it didn't feel right. Just because we were here and taking a break doesn't mean that the world stopped spinning. Salem is still out there, Neo is still out there, the other Maidens are still out there. With everything going on here it was starting to feel like a waste of time.

"What are we doing?" The laughter and conversations died down, all eyes were on me. "No seriously, what are we doing?" I didn't know where this bout of anger came from but I couldn't hold it in. "A few weeks ago, we fought for our lives to stop Salem and Cinder in Mistral. Now we're here and we're just sitting around? Why aren't we doing anything? Why are we just waiting for the adults to tell us what to do? Even if we can't stop Salem right now, what about Neo? She wants to attack and hurt innocent people. Why aren't we the ones looking for her?"

"Yang, we can't just-"

"We can do something!" Maybe this wasn't about just sitting around. Maybe this was about Neo. "She kidnapped me and she tried to kill Ruby, she still wants to. She evaded Ironwood's detection for nearly a year, he's not going to find her. So why are we just waiting for her to come to us?" I got up and walked away from the table. "I need to go talk to Qrow."

I passed Oscar as he was entering the room. "Good," I passed right by without saying anything. "Morning." I turned right and went down the hall. _I swear, if you're in their already._ He was sitting at the bar with a plate of food in front of him.

I walked up and spun him around so he was looking at me. "I want to go after Neo. I'm tired of standing around and waiting for something to happen." He swallowed whatever he was eating and took a drink of coffee.

"Good morning to you too." I sighed and sat down next to him. "What's this about all of a sudden?" He spun back around to face the bar top. "Is it revenge? I didn't think you were the type for that. And Ironwood hasn't found her yet so there's nothing-"

"Don't say there's nothing we can do. There's plenty we can do. Anything is better than just sitting around!" The bartender from yesterday slid a cup of coffee in front of me. Qrow just continued to eat his breakfast.

"I understand that you're pissed off. She captured you and beat you so you want get even, does that about sum it up?" I nodded slowly. "Well you can't right now. Going off and looking for trouble without a plan will only get you in the same situation you were in before. You'll get your chance to pay her back. But you have to wait." All anybody wanted to do around here is wait.

I grabbed my coffee and headed for the door. "I'm going back to the dining hall. Sorry for interrupting your breakfast." How could everybody just want to sit around and wait for something bad to happen? I walked back over to my seat next to Blake and sat down, my half eaten and untouched breakfast sandwiches still waiting for me. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get aggressive with you guys." Everybody just shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal, but I knew it'd probably come up again once we were finished eating. I decided to just stay quiet and eat my breakfast.

"So," I sat in a circle with Ruby, Weiss, and Blake in the room Blake and I were sharing. "I assume I'm the subject of this talk, right?" Ruby looked as uncomfortable as I felt, and Weiss and Blake just sat there silently.

"We think… that something is bothering you." Ruby started. "And if there is, you need to tell us right now." Blake and Weiss nodded in agreement. "Something other than what you've already told us that is."

This felt like an intervention. Qrow had pretty much hit the nail on the head with his analysis of what I was feeling but I had no idea how they would react to it. "I want to go after Neo. I want to find her and I want to make sure she won't be able to hurt people anymore. Whether that means she has to die or be locked away forever, I don't care." The looks on their faces were of slight concern. "And… I want to be the one who does it." It felt weird, saying that out loud. "Call it revenge, or vengeance, or whatever you want. But I will do whatever it takes to stop her from hurting any of you, even if that means… getting hurt in the process."

That definitely was not the answer they were expecting. The stunned silence was deafening and uncomfortable. It started to feel like the walls were closing in. I'm not sure how long we all sat silently until Blake finally spoke up.

"I can't let you do that." Her voice was serious and her face was stern. "Killing someone is very serious, and it's not something that can be taken back. I know you Yang, you won't capture her alive. Not after everything that she's done and tried to do." Weiss and Ruby remained silent as she spoke. "You told me you weren't like Adam, and that you never would be. But the way you're talking and thinking is very dangerous… trust me."

"You're a lot of things. Stubborn, energetic, kind, loving, and passionate. But a murderer is not one of those and it shouldn't become one." Weiss added. "No matter what I wanted to do to my father or Whitley didn't matter, because I knew I had to handle them both rationally for my sake. Don't do this."

Ruby was the last one to speak. Her words slow and quiet and she looked down at the floor. "We've lost too many friends to these people already. Penny was destroyed to make a point. And Pyrrah died trying to do the right thing even though she knew she couldn't win. I know that I can't stop you once your mind is made up but… I don't want to lose my sister too." She looked up from the floor, tears in her eyes, "Don't give up your life to protect ours."

It sucked, they were all sad. And once again it was because of me. "I'm not going to give up my life. But I'm not going to just let Neo run free either. I know you guys are worried about me because of how I've been acting. But I need you to understand that I have to do this. Yes, I hate her for what she did to me, but this has nothing to do with that. My only concern right now is making sure she can't hurt you three, our friends, or anyone else, ever again."

Blake and I locked eyes, she spoke calmly and clearly. "If you can promise me, right here and right now, that you'll take her alive no matter what… Then I won't stop you." I tried to glance at Ruby but Blake's voice stopped me. "No. Look me in the eyes and make me that promise." I could tell how serious she was about this.

I looked into her eyes and took a deep breath. "I promise. I will take her alive so that she can face Ironwood's judgement." Blake smiled and leaned back.

"Okay then, I'm going to trust you." Ruby flopped backwards in relief and Weiss exhaled the breath she had been holding in. "We'll still be there to have your back though, so don't forget to lean on us for support if you need it. We're Team RWBY, we win together or not at all." I didn't expect them to be okay with this, I expected resistance and them telling me that they didn't think I should be the one to go after her. But they support me, and they always will.

"Oh, one last thing." I got up and scrambled over to the dresser, pulling out the bag. "I never got to give you this." I handed her the back and she pulled the small box out. She opened it and pulled out the golden ribbon I picked out for her. "I know you don't like to cover your ears anymore, but I figured you could still wear this as a nice little bow if you want to change up your hairstyle."

She put it back in the box and put the lid on. "I love it." She crawled over and gave me a hug. "Thank you, Yang." She got up and set the box neatly on her side of the dresser. Ironwood was right, they get upset with me because they know that I'm better than how I've been acting. I just wished I didn't almost ruin every bond and relationship I had to learn that. Team RWBY has changed since our time in Beacon, none of us are the same as we were and we will never be the same again. But that's okay, change is a good thing.

* * *

"I've found her." We were sitting in one of the large conference rooms, on a video call with Ironwood. "My men tracked her to the far north end of the continent. We know her approximate location but nothing exact. It's far enough out of the way where any activity that isn't hers will get noticed by them right away. I haven't sent any additional men or supplies to any of the nearby bases because they likely are watching my people."

"It's a trap." I stated bluntly. "There's no way you could've found her if she was actively trying to hide from you. She must be ready to carry out whatever plans she may have so she's trying to lure us into a trap so we can't stop her."

Ironwood nodded on the large screen. "I hate to admit it but that's what I was also thinking. I don't want to discuss things any further over this channel though, I'd rather we all talk in person. If you all can join me here at the academy later tonight we can discuss what our plans will be. I'll see you all soon." The screen blacked out. And we were all left sitting in silence. After nearly a month of patient waiting she decides it's time to play again. I didn't even want to think about everything that she's prepared for us and this plan of hers.

"Well people," Qrow started, "I'd say prep everything you think you may need. We might not be coming back for a while." We all got up from the table and headed back to our rooms, nobody really talking. I grabbed my drawstring bag and packed some clothes in it.

"Are you ready for this?" Blake asked. She hadn't grabbed anything yet, she was just watching me as I got ready.

"Yeah, are you?" She nodded quietly and started packing a small bag. I grabbed the little box that was sitting on the dresser and pulled the gold ribbon out of it. I pulled her hair back into a ponytail and tied it off with ribbon, the gold bow clashing with her black hair. "For good luck." I said with a smile.

She leaned in and kissed me gently. "For good luck." She replied with a blush. I finished packing my bag, grabbed a heavy jacket, and strapped up my boots. "Remember Yang," We looked at each other, ready to go, "you take her alive."

I nodded and held my fist out, waiting for her to bump it. "Don't worry, I know what I have to do." She bumped my fist and we left the room. "And like you said before, I'll have you to lean on if I need support." We all met down in the foyer and loaded into the limo out front. Thirteen of us really made the limo seem smaller than it was when we first got to Atlas.

I tuned out all the small conversations happening around me and closed my eyes, I wasn't going to get distracted here. I felt Blake's hand close around mine, _I've got too many things I need to protect._

Qrow wrapped his knuckle on the door to Ironwood's office. "Qrow Branwen and… everyone." The door slid open and we all stepped inside. Ironwood saw us and pressed something on his desk, which started lowering into the floor as a long conference table and chairs rose from the floor behind him and a large screen descended from the ceiling.

"Take a seat everyone." He held what looked like a large Scroll and pressed a button, bringing the large screen to life. We all took seats and pictures started to display on the screen, the first couple were tracks from people on foot and vehicles. "Like I told everyone over the video call, we've found them in a very remote area up north. The military doesn't even have any facilities up there because there are no cities or towns due to the incredibly harsh environment. We were lucky to find these tracks while my scouts were surveying the area." He slid his hand across the touch pad and the photos changed. One was from a distance and showed black spots against the snowy fields and mountains, and the other was a zoomed in image of that. The outfits confirmed that they were Neo's men. "I sent a few scouts on the ground to survey from up close and they gathered quite a bit of evidence for us. This mountain must have a naturally occurring cave system that they've been using. But how deep it goes or large it is are unknown, the heavy storms and snowfalls prevent us from getting a scan of the area." He swiped again and the next photo showed the little pint-sized bitch. Neo was stepping out of a treaded vehicle and her men were unloading something from it. "I believe that Yang's assessment of this being a trap to be correct, wearing the dark uniforms against the white background doesn't do much to stealth them." He swiped through a few more photos showing them unloading a few Atlesian Paladins, before turning the large screen off.

"My plan is to have two teams for this. One to hopefully sneak into their base and apprehend Neo, and the other team on standby. She will most likely expect a group to come directly into her base and while the fighting is going on in their she will set her other plan into motion. According to Yang she plans on destabilizing government all over the world. Her first target will no doubt be Atlas itself. If she manages to take control of the city, or even knockout the power grid, the kingdom won't stand a chance. That's why I can't afford to send too many men to help out." He tapped the glass tabletop and a map of the continent popped up. "The closest military installation is at least 20-30 miles from where Neo is operating out of. The team on standby will be working with them to prepare defenses to prevent Neo's men from making it here. If we can get them on both fronts we should be able to put a stop to them, and hopefully get the approval of the people back as well." As he explained his plan the different areas of the map lit up to show us where he was talking about.

"That's all well and good James, but how do you expect us to sneak in, they'll have guards posted for sure." Qrow countered. James nodded and tapped the screen twice, it zoomed out and showed a large storm wall traveling south from just north of the continent.

"This storm should be hitting land by tomorrow, it'll give the first team plenty of cover to approach undetected. We won't be able to fly you in or take a large transport so the first team will have to take two-man snow skimmers. We use them a lot to the north and they can navigate a storm rather effectively. My men will supply both teams with protective gear and equipment. The only thing to do now is divide you into two seven-person teams."

"What do you mean seven, general?" Weiss asked. "There's only thirteen of us here." There was a knock on the door as it slid open and Winter strode into the room. Weiss' face lit up when she saw her.

"Winter and Qrow will each be leading a team. Qrow will be leading the first team and Winter will be leading the second. I'd like Team SSSN, Oscar Pine, and Nora Valkyrie to be on team two. Team RWBY, Jaune Arc, and Lie Ren will be on team one. While Qrow and his team work on capturing Neo, Winter and her team will be setting up a defensive perimeter to stop their advance if they choose to launch the assault. If they don't then team two will go in to support team one. This may be our only chance to capture Neo so I need everyone to work together on this." He placed both of his hands on the table and slowly scanned over all of us. "I know I'm asking a lot from all of you. But if we manage to capture Neo you'll all be heroes, heroes that the people will be able to put their faith in, something that they lack right now."

"Everyone already knows that I'm in. I'm not letting her get away again." I said, looking around at everyone. "And If I go I know Ruby, Weiss, and Blake are going to watch my back." I looked right at Ironwood. "If you can get me to her, I'll capture Neo."

Sun, Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune all stood up. "We came to support out friends." Sun stated.

"Yeah," Neptune added, "We're more than willing to do this."

"If it gets us closer to avenging Pyrrah," Jaune start solemnly, "then we'll do whatever you ask of us."

Everyone looked at Oscar, who sat there silently. "My decision was made when I left home. I'm staying with my friends."

Ironwood nodded. "Well then that settles it. I've got an airship waiting to take you all north. I need to prepare my troops here, just in case the worse happens. Get it done everyone."


	23. Into The Storm

I don't think I can express how much I hate the snow. We had just got dropped off at this base and I already didn't want to be here. There was no sun coming through the cloud coverage and the snow was falling so heavy that you could step outside for a second and be covered in about an inch of snow. We were rushed into a building and immediately had something thrust into our hands. "These are your thermal suits. They are designed to conserve your body heat to keep you warm out in the storm. They are meant to be worn under your other protective clothing." As the guy in charge was talking I let the suit unroll in my hands. It was all one piece and looked incredibly tight fitting. We were then lead deeper into the building and entered a large storage bay like area. There were vehicles being worked on, weapons and equipment being checked, and on the far side they had a large sliding door open where they were bringing in crates from outside.

We were led over to the where they were doing vehicle maintenance were shown a group of smaller, snowmobile looking things. "These are your snow skimmers that you'll be taking out." There were two seats, back to back. The front seat was for the driver and the back seat was for a gunner. "Once you all get your suits on, team one will take these out for a practice run while team two gets familiar with some of the equipment we have around the base. If you just wait right here, I'll have someone come show you to the barracks." He walked away, leaving the fourteen of us waiting at the snow skimmers.

I got closer and inspected one of them. It didn't have a handlebar set up with a twist accelerator like a snowmobile, or Bumblebee, instead it was two separate control handles on the left and right of the seat. The restraints for the seats were Y-style with two straps coming over each shoulder and connecting to a third that came up between your legs. A large glass canopy covered both seats and was connected in the middle by a mechanical hinge that I wagered automatically raised and lowered it. The turret on the back sat snuggly into the frame and probably wouldn't pop up unless it was activated. The controls for the back seat were the same as those for the front. Similarly, to a snowmobile, the front half of the skimmer had two skis but the back half had nothing, leaving the skimmer to rest at an angle when parked. The last thing of note was that they were pure white, most likely to blend in with the snow.

"Hi, I'm going to show you to the barracks so you can get changed." A lady in a white military suit and a tight ponytail greeted us. "Follow me please and make sure your jackets are zipped up, it can get incredibly cold outside." She led us out through the door where they brought the crates in and quickly led us across the base. She was trying to say something but the wind was so loud I couldn't make out what it was as it whipped my hair all around. The lady led us to a large silver building and pushed the door open. We all followed her inside where it was instantly warmer and the temperature change made you sweat. "This is the barracks, I'll show you where you can change." She led us down a hallway and into a room that was lined with bunks and cots. "You can change in here." She stopped us in front of seven sets of bunks in the front right of the room. "For the duration of this mission, these will be your cots. Miss Schnee a bed is being made up for you in the officer's quarters if you'll kindly follow me." The lady led winter from the room, leaving the rest of us looking at the probably uncomfortable beds.

I threw off my jacket and started to take my clothes off. I stripped down to my compression shorts and bra and slipped into the thermal suit. "This thing's kind of tight." I told the others as stretched it up and over my chest. I already started to feel warmer after a few seconds of having it on. The others did the same and put their suits on, the consensus being that the suit was indeed tight.

"Hey, look! It's even got a little hole for my tail!" Sun showed us excitedly as he waved his butt at us. "These things are awesome, I feel like a superhero!"

"I feel uncomfortable." Jaune countered. I grabbed my clothes and put them back on over the suit. I was really warm now, the only thing that suit wasn't covering were my hands, feet, and head.

"Are you all ready?" The lady came back with Winter following close behind. The rest of the group was finishing getting their clothes back on over the suit. "The suit takes a little getting use to but soon you won't even realize you're wearing it." I strapped my boots back up and put my gloves back on, the only exposed part of me left was my face.

We stepped back outside but the cold hardly bothered me. Before I put the suit on it was cold immediately when I stepped outside but now, even with the wind hitting me full force, the only part of me that was cold was my face. We went back to the large building and everybody who was a part of Team One was led back over to the snow skimmers. Someone different gave us the run down on how they work.

"Okay, this actually pretty simple. The driver uses their two handles to control the skimmer; pushing them both forward will make the skimmer go forward, pulling back will go in reverse, left is left, right is right. Pretty self-explanatory. The gunner seat works in a similar manner; forward is down, back is up, left is left, right is right. These can get a little tricky to control when you're just learning, they go very fast and the controls are quite touchy. So, we're going to break off into teams to get you a quick operating lesson. I grabbed onto Blake, Ruby grabbed Weiss, Jaune and Ren both nodded at each other, and Qrow just stood there. "Don't worry, we have a single seater for you. It's a little different to operate but for the most part it's the same."

I looked at Blake nervously, "So, do you wanna drive, or should I?"

She looked back at me, equally nervous. "I'm a better shot than you. You need to drive."

I sighed and got in the driver seat. The man walked along and handed us all ear pieces. "These will let you communicate back and forth with the base. We'll give you instructions from here while you're practicing. There's a map that's on your heads-up display that will mark out where the training course is, when you're ready go ahead and press the green button on the console.

"Are you ready Blake?" I asked. I looked over the console, there were a lot of gauges and readings that didn't make sense to me.

I heard the click of her harness as she buckled in. "Yeah, I think so, I'm just not a fan of the cold."

"Tell me, about it." I pressed the green button and the skimmer came to life. The back end lifted up off the ground, using a form of turbine to stay aloft. The glass canopy came down and locked us into the skimmer. The man's voice came over the ear piece.

"Okay, driver I need you to check the display and tell me if you see the little red dot on your map." I looked around for the map that he was talking about. I found it tucked off to the right, a small red dot blinking slowly.

"Yeah, I see it." As I watched the map a little blue blip popped up.

"Okay now do you see the blue dot? That's the practice course."

"Yeah, I see that one too." I looked over at the other skimmers. Weiss looked nervous in the driver seat of hers and Ruby's while Ruby looked really excited to be in the gunner seat. Jaune slowly looked over the controls of his, while Ren sat patiently in the back. Qrow took off his cape and handed it to the man before climbing into his.

"Okay, I will now be linking all your ear pieces together so you can all communicate freely." There was a bit of static followed by a low-pitched ding. "Okay look on the display, it should list a callsign in the top right corner. I checked the corner for the callsign, the only thing there was _"Bumblebee"_ _You have got be kidding me._ "I'm going to call out your callsign over the radio and when you hear it, all the operator needs to say is their callsign followed by 'standing by'." I waited for him to start.

"Crow?"

Qrow's voice responded unenthusiastically. "Crow standing by."

"Bumblebee?"

 _That's me._ "Bumblebee, standing by." This felt weirdly like a movie I had seen before.

"White Rose?"

Weiss' voice responded. "White Rose, standing by."

Finally he finished up. "Guardian?"

Jaune was the last one, his voice kind of excited. "Guardian, standing by."

"Hey," I asked, "who decided what these callsigns were going to be?" I waited for a response and heard Qrow's chuckle over the comms.

"That would be me, Bumblebee." He laughed to himself.

"I hate you so much." I told him.

"The comms are for serious communication only people." The instructor informed us. "Okay now take it easy and slowly try to guide yourselves through the bay door." I gently pushed forward on the handles and the skimmer started moving, I gently guided it to the right towards the open door. I may have had a bit of an advantage since I rode Bumblebee a lot. "Good job Bumblebee. Now just wait for Crow to take lead." I stopped right before the door and waited for Qrow to pass us. "Guardian, you're looking good, a little jerky though, just ease up a bit and relax. White Rose, you're not moving, is something wrong?"

"I don't think I can do this." Weiss replied.

"Weiss, it's Yang. Just take a deep breath. Once you do that slowly push forwards with your hands. The key is to not stop once you start moving." It was similar to the instructions Dad gave me when I was learning how to ride a motorcycle.

"There you go White Rose, easy does it. Now while holding forward slowly push both handles to the right." There was a pause over the comms. "There you go, now just fall into line. It gets a little easier once you can pick up some speed but you just need to remember to stay calm."

Qrow passed us and went out the door. "Okay Bumblebee, you're good to follow Crow. Guardian and White Rose will be right behind you." A small yellow blip appeared on the map followed by three green ones. "Your positions should now be displayed on the map. You are the yellow and your partners are green." I followed Qrow as he slowly glided along the path towards the base exit. "Once you're clear of the base you can open them up a little. The skis will retract automatically and you'll be in full skimmer mode." As soon as I passed through the gate I pushed the handles forward speeding off ahead of Qrow. "Bumblebee, if you feel comfortable then go ahead of the others and get to the practice course. I'm going to cut you out for a minute so I can work with the others." I checked the map and angled us towards the blue blip on the map.

"You're pretty good at this." Blake noted, our yellow dot getting further away from the green ones.

"I thought it'd be different from riding my motorcycle but it's not too bad." The glass canopy kept the snow and wind out, which was a good thing considering we were traveling against it.

"This is actually kind of cool. I just hope I don't have to actually shoot at anyone." Her words kind of brought the gravity of what we were doing here out in the open. We were basically being brought in as a mercenary group, except we weren't being paid and all but Qrow and Winter were kids.

"Yeah, I hope you don't have to shoot at anyone either, but you probably will." We were quickly approaching the blue blip on the map and I eased up on the acceleration. As we got close I could see the little blinking lights placed in the snow and the vague outline of a course that the lights made up. The green blips were still a decent way back but they were moving a little faster now. Static filled the ear piece as we were patched back into the main feed.

"Bumblebee you seem to have the hang of this. I'm going to update your map, I'd like you to head there." I looked over at the map as a new blue blip popped up, further east of here. I eased back into a decent speed and followed the map. "Crow, White Rose, and Guardian, go ahead and run the course a few times to get used to the controls."

We sped along the snow, leaving a cloud of powder trailing behind us. "Where do you think he's having us go?" I asked, following the curve of the snow dunes.

"Who knows. Just be careful, there's a lot more trees than there was at the practice track." She was right, up ahead I could kind of make out a forest through all the snow. That must have been where we were headed.

"Okay Bumblebee, you're getting close. Now for working the turret, push both handles in towards your lap to activate the turret and the triggers fire." The skimmer shook a little, it must have worked. "Beowulves, Ursai, and other Grimm tend to congregate in this forest. Go ahead and take some of them out to get use to the gunner controls. Pilot, your job is to make sure the gunner can get a clear and precise shot. Don't let the skimmer get surrounded either, it's not meant to handle a large number of enemies at once."

I pulled back, slowing down and coming to a stop before the trees. "Are you ready Blake?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." I pushed forward and took us into the forest. Even with the heavy coverage from the branches there was still a lot of snow on the ground. "Keep your eyes open Yang, call them out if you see them." I glanced down at the map, the others were still at the practice track. We slowly glided along, weaving in between the trees. "Do you see anything yet?"

I was about to respond with a no when a lone Ursa wandered out from behind a tree ahead of us. "Yeah, an Ursa up ahead. It'll be on your right." I angled right, giving the Ursa enough of a gap that it wouldn't be able to close the distance quickly.

"Don't jerk around, I'm going to take the shot." I pulled back on the handles but kept us moving forward slowly. A few loud retorts sounded and large holes were ripped through the Ursa. "Got it. Let's continue." I picked up a little more speed, hoping the sound didn't attract too much attention.

By the time the others joined up with us we had eliminated two Ursa and four Beowulves. "Okay Bumblebee, just stick with the group while they get some practice in and then I'll call you all back." I dropped back and fell in behind Ruby and Weiss.

"Everybody having fun?" I asked over the comms.

"It's okay, the skimmer's a little cramped though. And they told me I wasn't allowed to have alcohol in here with me." Complaints from Qrow, sounds about right.

"Ren and I are getting use to it, it could be worse though." Jaune added.

"Yeah, I could be driving." Ren replied.

"How do you think it's going?" Weiss asked, "You know who my partner is."

"But Weiss this gun is so awesome. I want to shoot at something." I did kind of feel bad for Weiss, but she chose to date her so I don't feel that bad.

"Look alive people." Qrow called out. "Got a couple of Beowulves ahead of us." I slowed and let the others pull ahead. "I'll go up the center, Jaune circle around to the left, Weiss take the right." I watched Weiss and Jaune guide their skimmers around the group of Beowulves that started to look confused. Blake and I watched as they shredded through the pack of Grimm, leaving bullets holes and black mist in the snow. The whole skimmer shook as the ground vibrated.

"What the hell was that?" Qrow asked.

"Probably just a glacial fracture. It happens occasionally and simulates an earthquake. If you've all gotten enough practice then come on back, I don't want you guys out after it gets dark." I turned our skimmer around and started heading towards the red dot that was the base.

"We're headed back, I think we're good." I told them.

"Yeah me too. Let's head back everyone." Qrow ordered. I heard Ruby's sigh in my ear, she still wanted to play with the new 'toy'. I waited for the others to catch up and we slowly made our way out of the forest. Once we cleared the trees I opened it up and went full speed back to base.

"These things are awesome." I took us up a large snow drifted and jumped through the air, coming down with a light thud and a cloud of snow.

"Take it easy Yang. These belong to the Atlas Military and I don't think they'd appreciate you tearing it up." Blake cautioned.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry so much." I told her as I ramped another drift. "Atlas doesn't make junk that'll just fall apart." I pulled back as we approached the base, the skis coming down to cushion the skimmer as we entered the base. I slowly guided the skimmer back to the vehicle bay and parked it back along the wall. I hit the red kill switch and the canopy popped open, letting Blake and I get out. The others rolled in and parked next to the now empty skimmer.

"Well you can pilot and you can shoot. Hopefully you all can pull this off without having to shoot though." The instructor collected the ear pieces from us. "That was good work though, you all caught on fairly fast. But tomorrow you'll be operating those under the cover of a pretty intense storm so you'll have to be very careful." He led us out of the bay and across the base to another large complex. "Your friends have been learning about the large variety of equipment we have here on base and what it can do, along with what it is used for." He opened up the doors and led us inside.

"You're not just taking the skimmers, we're going to be sending some equipment along with you so it's important that you learn how to operate it." Along the walls were racks and tables with various items sitting on them or hung up. "Over here will be some of the items you'll be making use of." He picked up a sphere off one of the tables and showed it to us. "This is a shock grenade, it's used to stun larger groups of enemies. To use it you just press the red button and throw it." He tossed it to Qrow and pointed to three dummies set up in a large open area. "Give it a shot, activate it then throw it at the dummies."

Qrow pressed the button and tossed it over, the sphere rolling in between the first two. It exploded in arcing trails of electricity that sparked and singed the dummies. "This is a non-lethal grenade that we use when we're trying to capture someone. It's basically like a one use taser." He picked up a large square and tossed it to me. "Pull that blue guard and drop it." I did I was told and dropped it on the ground. It unfolded and built itself up into a wall of cover.

"Portable cover wall. Pull the cord and drop it, that simple. Reusable, pull the blue cord again and it will collapse back into its portable package." I pulled the blue cord again and it folded back up into the square. I picked it up and handed it back to him. He picked up a small canister with a weird applicator style head on it.

"This is Biofoam. Biofoam is used when you sustain any injury that causes you to bleed. You have to insert the spray nozzle into the wound and inject the foam into the body. The foam is designed to seal off any exposed blood vessels to prevent further bleeding and has a numbing agent in it to alleviate pain. Let's hope it's not necessary." He set the canister back down on the table.

"You're all already familiar with the ear pieces so we don't need to cover those but each of you will be given a tactical visor. It shares a lot of commonalities with your Scrolls; aura levels, teammates, etcetera. However, these visors," He picked up the orange visor and showed it to us, "can also display a small distance map to show you how far away you are from one another."

He set the visor down and turned away from the tables. "That should cover everything you'll need. Are there any questions?" I had nothing to ask and judging by the silence no one else did either. "Okay, dinner will be in the mess hall, it's right next to the barracks. You're all dismissed."

We wandered over to the mess hall and got dinner. The other half of our group was already there eating. We got our food and sat down with them. "So, Weiss," Winter began, "did your team do well on your practice run?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes, our instructor told us that we did well for our first time out. Yang piloted exceptionally well for her first time." Winter nodded approvingly.

"That is good to hear, your team will need to be precise tomorrow." She turned to her team, staring at the members of Team SSSN, "As will mine." She said sternly. Sun and the others must have been giving her trouble.

"I'm sorry on behalf of my team." Sage told her. "But you can count on us to be ready."

"I hope so." Winter replied. "Because if this Neo decides to put her plan into motion then you're going to be the first line of defense and if all goes well you will also be the only line of defense needed."

"Their team will be fine. The others wouldn't have asked for their help if they couldn't be trusted." Qrow told her. "I trust their judgement." It just dawned on me that Winter still had no idea why we were all together. There was no way Weiss would have told her or her mother about what we were actually doing. So that brought up the question; why did she think we were doing all of this?

"And what of your team Qrow?" She asked. "Do you think they're ready?"

He laughed in response. "I think they're more than ready. Yang's not gonna let her get away this time, are you?" He nudged me in the side playfully.

"I'll take her down, you don't have to worry about that." I stabbed my fork into my food a little more forceful then I meant to. "She's not going to get away from me again."

Qrow turned back to Winter nonchalantly. "See everything's fine." He leaned back in his chair and lost his balance, falling backwards and hitting his head on the floor. "Ow." Winter hid a smile behind her hand as everyone else laughed lightly. He stood up and picked up his chair. "Not. Funny." He sat back down and scooted his chair in closer.

"Bad luck just seems to follow you everywhere you go, doesn't it?" Winter taunted. He rolled his eyes and took a drink from his flask. "Hopefully you can shake it off for this one important mission though."

"Ha, ha, very funny. I'd think you better just worry about your team." He replied. Weiss sighed as they started bickering.

"You know," I interrupted. "You two sound like an arguing couple." I didn't think it was possible but Weiss' face paled and Ruby started laughing uncontrollably.

"How dare you insinuate I have relations with this drunk! I can't stand him!"

"I'll admit she's not hard to look out, but she talks to damn much."

They turned their attention from me back to each other as they started arguing again. Weiss looked at me with a face that said, 'I will kill.', and all Blake could do was shake her head disapprovingly at me.

"Why do you have to antagonize?" She asked.

I nudged her in the side as Qrow and Winter went at it. "Because it's fun Blake. Especially when it's you that I'm bothering.

Qrow slammed his hands down on the table. "You want to take this outside?" He shouted.

Winter stood up defiantly. "Gladly. I need to pay you back for last time."

Weiss sighed, "Not again."

Ruby was bouncing up and down in her seat happily. "Aw yeah, round two." _Round two?_

We were joined by a bunch of soldiers cheering as we stood outside in the snow. There was just enough sunlight left to still see. Qrow and Winter stood opposite of each other. "I'll do more than pay you back for last time, Qrow." She stated spitefully.

Qrow just laughed and held his hand on the grip of his sword. "We'll see, Ice Queen. But I already know you can't beat me." Winter lunged forward with her blade but Qrow brought his sword out in front to block. I leaned in close to Ruby.

"Hey what did you mean by round two?" The sound of clashing metal rang out as they exchanged blows.

"During the Vytal Festival, Qrow and Winter got into it out in front of the school, it was awesome. Now don't interrupt, I'm trying to watch." I turned my attention back to their fight.

Qrow jumped back, avoiding a slash from Winter, and dug his sword into the snow. He swung it forward, sending a cloud of powder into the air, blocking Winter's vision. I watched as he flicked his wrist down and the gears near the hilt of his sword started whirring. The grip elongated and the sword started splitting and fitting to a nice curve, revealing his trademark scythe.

Winter summoned a group of small white birds and sent them through the fading cloud of snow. They swarmed Qrow but with a quick swing of his scythe they all disappeared. He dashed forward, swinging his scythe in a large arc. She narrowly avoided the blade and back stepped quickly. Qrow planted the handle into the snow and leaned against the scythe. "I saw all your little tricks last time we did this Ice Queen, I've still got plenty up my sleeve though."

Winter pulled a small blade from the handle of her weapon and held it out in front of her. "You didn't see all my tricks." Two large glyphs appeared in the snow next to her and two alpha Beowulves appeared from them. They charged at Qrow, kicking up snow as they dropped to all fours. Qrow swung at the first one but the blade didn't slice through it, shocking him. The second one tackled him to the ground making him let go of his scythe. He held it back as it tried snapping at him and punched it in the face, trying to get it off of him. He slipped out from under it and avoided the first Beowolf as it tried to slash at him with its claws.

"What's wrong Qrow, are my dogs too much for you?" She stood back from the Beowulves as they circled Qrow.

"No, I can handle them. I just find it funny how you can't beat me on your own so you rely on your little pets to beat me for you." Winter whistled and the Beowulves dashed at Qrow. He jumped straight up, letting the summons bash into each other. He dashed for his scythe and scooped it out of the snow, changing it back into its sword form. He ran back to the Beowulves, stabbing one through the back as it tried to get up and ripping the blade up through its body. The blade flipped down and he pulled the trigger twice, firing two shotgun blasts into the face of the second one. Both of the Beowulves disappeared and he turned just in time to block Winter's stab.

"Attacking while my back is turned. I guess they don't teach honor in the military." Winter attacked him furiously but Qrow blocked all the strikes. He pushed his sword against her, shoving her back and took three steps back himself. He held his sword behind his back and smiled at her. "What's wrong, getting angry Ice Queen?"

Winter ran forward aiming her blade at Qrow's chest. She got within two steps of him and her food slid through the snow, making her lose her balance. _That's why he stepped back, he knew there was a patch of ice._ He caught Winter by wrapping his left arm around her back and held his sword up to her throat with his right. "I win." He declared.

She dropped her weapons in the snow. "I yield." She said with a defeated tone.

Qrow pulled his sword back and leaned in, kissing Winter on the cheek. "Told you before Ice Queen, you can't beat me." He walked away leaving Winter with a fierce blush and a furious expression on her face.

She pulled her weapons from the snow as cheers and whistles erupted from the surrounding soldier. "How dare you do that, you drunk!" She tried going after him but he was already gone. _This is going to start a whole new argument._

Ruby leaned into Weiss. "I think she likes him." Ruby sang happily.

"Oh, my gods." Was all Weiss could say in response. The crowd slowly dispersed but Qrow was nowhere to be found. Winter stormed off in a huff and went back into the mess hall.

"That was… interesting." Sun looked around at the rest of us. "I mean the fight was cool and all but the whole part with the kissing and all that…" Neptune put his hand on Sun's shoulder.

"Just… stop while you're ahead bud." The sun slowly sunk below the horizon, leaving an orange and yellow line that slowly faded to blue then purple and then finally black.

"I wonder if they'll fall in love. That would be so romantic." Nora started in. "Two people who can't stand each other slowly falling in love. Oh, it's just like Weiss and Ruby except Ruby actually like Weiss to begin with."

Ren threw his hand over Nora's mouth as Weiss glared at her. "Just forget she said anything. When she gets started on this stuff she- Gross Nora, don't lick my hand!" He pulled his hand away and shook the slobber off of it. "Nora that's unhygienic."

"For the record," Weiss looked directly at Nora. "I didn't hate Ruby. I just didn't agree with her."

Blake tugged at my arm. "I'm cold, can we go back inside?" She was shivering against me.

"How are you cold? You have the thermal suit on." She glared up at me as she quietly shook against my side trying to get warm. "Fine we'll go back inside." I wrapped my arm around her and we went back inside. The heat inside the mess hall slowly stopped Blake's shaking. "Happy now?" She stayed nuzzled into my side but nodded.

"I don't like the cold, we've been over this. How are you always so warm?" She asked. I just shrugged, I didn't know.

"I put off a lot of body heat I guess." I answered. I reached up and undid my ponytail, letting my hair fall about my shoulders. "That's better." I put the hair band around my left wrist and grabbed my fork, getting back to my dinner. Ruby and Weiss came back with Oscar and Ren and sat down. "So where's everyone else?"

"Team SSSN went looking for Qrow and Nora wanted to go too so Jaune with her. Ren didn't want to go, Weiss is still recovering, Ruby follows Weiss, and I was still hungry." Oscar informed us.

"I see… has Ozpin told you why we needed to come to Atlas?" All heads turned to Oscar. I felt bad putting him on the spot like that.

"He said we needed to find a safe place for the Relic of Knowledge. As long as the other Relics are in their vaults then everything is okay." He answered.

"So we're just going to leave the Relic in Atlas Academy at the academy?" I asked.

"That's the idea?" I looked at the others and then back at Oscar.

"Does Ozpin have enough power to take over for a minute. I want to ask him something." Oscar nodded and closed his eyes, when he reopened them they were Ozpin's.

"You have a question, Yang?" He asked. It was still uncomfortable hearing Oz's voice come from Oscar.

"Why does Salem want these Relics? Why were they created in the first place?" He sighed and looked down at the table.

"I promised that there would be no more secrets and no more half-truths. But I don't expect you to understand what I'm about to tell you." He looked back up and placed his elbows on the table and his hands up to his mouth.

"You already know that the story of the Four Maidens is based upon me. That I had given up pieces of my magic to bless those four young women with supernatural abilities. That's only the start of this journey. The Relics came along much later, after I had failed to stop Salem the first time. You see Salem was trying to wipe out humanity long ago, while she didn't succeed, I also failed, which is how I'm in this current reincarnation predicament. Salem was seeking the power of the Younger Brother from the story of creation. Now if you remember the story, the Younger Brother sought desolation, destruction, and was the source of the first appearance of The Grimm."

"Sorry I'm not trying to interrupt, but why was Salem after this power in the first place?" It just didn't make sense, where was the connection between Ozpin and Salem?

"Salem is the original Winter Maiden." Blake stopped leaning against me and I leaned closer in my own chair. Everybody was listening intently now. "I don't know what made her turn into the monster she is today. But I think it may have been the gift that I bestowed upon her. You see Winter is not only a joyous time to have fun and spend time with your family. It is also a metaphor for death. Think about it, when the snow and cold weather comes most vegetation dies off. The trees become skeletons of themselves and the harsh weather does its fair share to end life. My guess is that she slowly grew to resent her power because of the negative connotation behind it. I would wager that she tried to gain the power of the Younger Brother so she could wipe out humanity to get rid of her feelings of guilt or responsibility. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to portray as some tragic case, she's far more than that. She was aware of what she was doing every step of the way, she chose to become the monster that she is. Now as for the Relics. They are tied to both my magic and the Two Brothers. You see my magic was a gift from the Brothers bestowed upon me very close to the creation of humanity. I'm no God with a capital G but many referred to me as a god. After I had failed to stop Salem and was cursed with immortality I created the Relics. This was at the height of my power when my reserves of magic were nearly limitless. I took a large portion of my power and split it into four pieces, pieces that I sealed with what are now the Relics."

"So she's after your power?" Ruby asked.

"Shortly, yes. But it's a little more complicated than that. You see Salem already holds a fraction of the power of the Younger Brother, it's how she commands Grimm and has lived for as long I have been around. The power that she wields is pure darkness, whereas mine is light. And that's what she's after. The four Relics when brought together can bestow the power of the Older Brother to whoever unites them, and if Salem can get ahold of the power of light then she can undo everything. She can become a God. And that's what she's after, true unrivaled power that she can use to wipe out humanity and create a world all of her own."

I felt uneasy, almost sick at the revelation. "Qrow knows all of this?" He nodded solemnly. "And my mother too?" Again, a slow solemn nod. "One more question. If my mother knew the stakes, then why did she leave?"

Oz stared intently at me. "Your mother's a smart woman, she's strong, she's a survivor, and, funny as it may sound, she is indeed loyal to a fault, just not to the right people. What she saw and learned while running missions for me changed her. The truths that she learned turned her cold and calloused to the world. She stopped seeing the light of hope that was hidden in the darkness of despair. She didn't see a way to stop Salem and called me a fool for trying before she just… disappeared. She knew that if she tried and failed to stop Salem, then it would be her fault that Salem succeeded, something that she didn't want responsibility for. I wish I could tell you more but anything else that I could tell you, you probably already heard from her yourself." He grew quiet, while I processed what he told me. "I hope I answered your questions, but I'm going to let Oscar have his body back for now. We can all talk as a group _after_ you capture Neo." Oscar regained control of his body and opened and closed his hands.

"Huh, I don't feel as tired." What Ozpin told was unsettling, to say the least. I don't think any of us imagined the situation to be as big as it actually was. Salem was as ancient in age as Ozpin. More than that she holds the power of what essentially is a God. _And if she holds the power of a God… what can we do to stop her?_

I set my fork down, there wasn't much food left but I couldn't finish it. "I'm going to go for a walk." I got up, pushed my chair in, and went outside. It wasn't snowing anymore, and the wind died down a bit. There were footprints in the snow going every direction from the soldiers going about the base. I started walking towards the front gate, the crunching of the snow under my feet calming me. _Salem has two of the Maidens; herself and Cinder. Mom is the Spring Maiden. The only one we don't know about is the Summer Maiden. But I don't know if Mom will ever come back, even if we do have the Relic._ Fast crunching footsteps caught up to me.

"What are you doing?" It was Ruby. I turned to her, the light colors in her hair peaking out from under her hood.

"Like I said I'm going on a walk. It's not like I'm going to leave the base, I'm just trying to… process all of that." Her cloak was wrapped tightly around her, she must have gotten cold too.

"Yeah, that was… eye opening." We got the front gate and turned right, walking the perimeter. "Are you scared?"

"About tomorrow… or the future?" I asked back.

"Both I guess?" I hadn't talked to Ruby one-on-one in a few weeks.

"Tomorrow, no. I'm not scared about tomorrow. The future though, that terrifies me. I mean, think about what Ozpin just told us. That's some pretty heavy stuff. The Relics hold the power of a God, Salem has two of the Maiden powers in her grasp, and don't forget that he told us his magic power is dwindling. I want everyone to make it out of this… but the further we go the less likely it seems." I stopped walking and looked down at the snow. "I'm afraid I'm going to lose all of you, I don't want that to happen."

"Yang, no one's going to-"

"Don't say that! You can't be sure! You can be as optimistic about this and do everything you possibly can to try and not let that happen but there's a very real chance any of us could die! I don't know how the hell you're dealing with it but it's eating me up inside! And I the more I try to bottle it up the worse I feel but I can't talk to any of you about because it just makes the fear and possibility that much more real for me! It's a constant battle of pretending everything is fine while these nagging thoughts eat away at me and then completely losing it because I can't hold it in anymore! How can I take care of you guys when I can't even take care of myself?!" I stood there shaking, tears blurring my vision.

"I wasn't going to say no one's going to die." I couldn't see her face, she had her hood pulled up and over, covering her from view. "We all know that death is a very real outcome. What I was going to say is that no one's going to go down without a fight. And even if one of us does die, there others will still fight on, adding one more reason to why they need to win. We're all scared, but Salem won't care if we're scared, or tired, or hurt, she'll keep trying until she wins, or we do. Fear isn't bad Yang. It lets us know are weaknesses, and we can use those weaknesses to become stronger. If your fear is losing us, then use that feeling to become stronger so that you can protect all of us." She reached up and pulled her hood down, the light breeze playing with her hair. "I know that it's been rough, it has on all of us. But you keep trying to shoulder everything alone, no matter how many times we tell you to stop. When are you going to depend on us?"

"I do depend on you guys. But how am I supposed to talk to you guys about the possibility of any of us dying?" She grabbed my hands and held them tightly.

"Exactly like you just did. Except maybe don't yell. Tell us how much you care about us by letting us know you're afraid of what can happen to us. The best way is to just say something."

"What are you two doing out here?" Weiss approached us with Blake in tow. "Do you have any idea how cold it is out here? Even with these thermal suits the nights are mercilessly cold, get inside!" Blake was shaking again so I took my jacket off and draped it around her.

"We were just having a chat on our walk." I told them. I picked Blake up and threw her over my shoulder.

"Put me down!" She struggled and kicked but I didn't let her go.

"No, we're going inside like you wanted." We walked back to the barracks and Ruby pushed the door open for me. I set Blake down once we were inside and took my jacket back.

"Quit doing that!" She shouted. I sat my jacket and boots next to the chest in front of the bunk.

"I call top." I jumped up onto the mattress and crawled under the covers. "Goodnight." I tried to tune out their talking and find a comfortable sleeping position on the uncomfortable bed. _Come on, just find a semi comfortable position so you can sleep._ I just gave up after a few minutes, lying on my side and closing my eyes. Slowly the sounds of the barracks faded away and I drifted off to sleep.

I heard a scream and looked around. "Blake?" Again, I heard the scream and followed it out of the room and down a long hallway. The further I ran down the hallway the louder the screams. The hallway ended in a heavy steel door. It wouldn't budge as I forcefully pushed and pulled, frantically trying to get to the screams coming from the other side. "Hold on Blake!" I kept shouting. I closed my right hand into a fist and struck the door. It broke off its hinges and slid across the floor coming to a rest at Blake's limp body as Neo stood over her, whacking her repeatedly with her umbrella.

"Yang, nice of you to finally join us." Neo stooped down and grabbed Blake by the hair, lifting her head up so she could see me. "Look Blake, your little worthless girlfriend is here."

"Get away from her!" I launched myself at Neo but as I flew towards her it wasn't Neo anymore, it was Adam. I heard the blade whistle through the air and everything went dark.

"Yang, wake up." I shot up in bed and activated Ember Celica at the sensation of touch, pulling my arm back to ready a punch. "Yang, calm down." I relaxed at Blake's voice, still jumpy from the dream.

I deactivated Ember Celica and dropped my arms. "Sorry." I tilted my head to the left and right, cracking my neck and sending a shiver down my spine. "I had another bad dream." I looked around at the empty bunks.

"You're the last one awake, again. Come on, we have breakfast, then briefing, and then we head out." She waited while I layered up and put my boots on. I finished up and she tossed me my jacket and a hat. "You're going to need these. The storm's rolling in soon." I put on my jacket and slipped the hat over my hair and covered my ears.

"Okay, I'm ready." Blake walked behind me and pulled my hat off. I felt her grab my hair and pull it all together. She tied it off my ponytail with a hair band and slipped the hat back on.

"Now you're ready." She kissed me on the cheek and held me tightly. "Don't do anything stupid today, understand?"

I nodded and kissed her back. "I'll do my best, I promise." My stomach growled, ruining the moment.

"Come on," Blake laughed, "let's get breakfast."

The wind was rough outside and to the far north you could see the approaching storm clouds. The base was a buzz of activity as the soldiers were moving around equipment from all different buildings and areas. We stayed out of the way as we walked to the mess hall, weaving between the groups of soldiers.

"It feels different around here today, doesn't it?" I could barely hear myself over the sound of all the activity.

"Yeah, everyone's on edge. You can feel it in the air." We stopped and waited for a cart to drive past before continuing to the mess hall. Snow started falling which meant the storm wasn't far behind.

We got to the door and I held it open for Blake. "Well the sooner we get Neo, the sooner everyone can relax." I followed her inside and shook off the snow that started collecting on my clothes. We got in line and waited to get food. When it was our turn I just grabbed toast and orange juice and followed Blake to the table where everyone else was sitting. Qrow and Winter were on complete opposite ends of the table and refused to acknowledge each other. I spread jelly and butter on my toast and took a bite. No one was talking, we just ate in uneasy silence.

I glanced around the table and everybody's eyes were glued to their plate or their food. _They must be feeling on edge too._ I grabbed Blake's hand for comfort and the feeling of uneasiness faded a little. I calmly finished my toast and orange juice and waited for everyone else to finish eating.

"Yang, you should eat more than just a few slices of toast. You need to be focused today." I looked down at Qrow who was sipping from his coffee mug.

"I am focused. I'm just not that hungry." I replied. He stared for a few more seconds and then looked back down into his coffee mug.

"If you insist. I just want to make sure all of my team will be performing at peak performance today." He set his mug down and picked up his fork. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all."

I stifled a yawn as the others slowly finished up their breakfast. "Okay team, go report to the armory, I'll be with you momentarily." Winter's voice cut the silence like a knife. Team SSSN, Oscar, and Nora got up from the table, dropped their plates and glasses off and left.

"We should head out to." Qrow stated. "We need to get moving to match up with this storm." We all got up from the table and took care of our dishes. Qrow and Winter were standing a few feet from each other back at the table. "You need something?"

Winter's face slowly flushed pink at his question. "Be safe out there Qrow. I need you to come back in one piece. Not because I like you, but because I still owe you payback for yesterday."

Qrow closed his eyes and smirked. "Yeah, I'll be back. You don't have to worry about me." He walked past her and joined the rest of us at the door. "Later, Ice Queen." He followed us out the door and over to the vehicle bay. The snow fall had picked up and it was making visibility a bit of an issue, even in the base.

Our instructor from yesterday was standing next to a table that had our supplies on it. "Okay let's make this brief. The coordinates of Neo's base are already loaded into the skimmers. The storm will make it so they can't detect you coming in although they probably are expecting you. Visibility is going to be crap so you're going to need to rely on your navigation system to get you there and to know where your teammates are at." He handed visors to all of us. "Go ahead and put these on now." I slid the visor over my face, it was completely black. "Go ahead and tap the left side near your ear."

I reached up and lightly tapped the visor. There was a small flash of light and black faded, being replaced by a screen that was displaying what was right in front of me. "Give it a second and then look at the rest of your team." I counted to five and then turned to the others. Their names and Aura levels were displayed over their heads. "If you do not see a name and aura level above the head of your teammates raise your hand." No one raised their hand. "Good, here." He handed each of us what was basically a backpack. "All the equipment we went over yesterday is in your bag." I grabbed the bag and held it closely. "You're going to run into a fight, that's a given at this point. Your objective is to capture Neopolitan and bring her in. She's crafty and cunning, so you'll need to be able to think fast and make split second decisions. Assume that you will have no back up, you seven will be all there is. The General put his faith in you kids, don't let him down. Load up."

He handed us ear pieces as we settled into the skimmers. I set it how I wanted it and started the skimmer, the hatch automatically closing. "Crow, ready to go."

"Bumblebee, ready to go."

"White Rose, ready to go."

"Guardian, ready to go."

"Okay team, you are cleared. The front gate is open for you. Give them hell." The skis carved through the fresh snow as we made our way to the front. The wall of snow in the distance creeping closer and closer with each passing second. I checked the navigation system and a blinking red light pulsed far to the north.

I passed through the gate and made a sharp left, going full speed towards the storm. "Remember team," Qrow's voice announced. "Visibility in the storm is going to be low. Call out anything dangerous if you see it." I sped ahead, the others close behind me and Blake. The further north we got, the heavier the snow fall. The nav map told me we were all within twenty to thirty meters of each other. _Good, stay close and don't get separated._

After about ten minutes speeding through the snow we were coming up on the storm wall. I went in full force and our skimmer was jostled roughly. "The storm wall is pretty rough." I told the others. "Keep a tight grip on the controls." The red light still looked incredibly far away. _How much further do we need to go?_

"Crow? Have you and your team breached the storm?" The instructors voice buzzed in my ea,r but I stayed focused on what was in front of me, I couldn't even see the others anymore the snowfall was so thick.

"Yeah, and you were right, visibility is awful. Is there any dangerous terrain we need to know about and look out for?" It was a good question, at this speed we probably wouldn't be able to maneuver in time if something was right in front of us.

"No, it should be wide open from there to Neo's location." The fierce wind was shaking the skimmer as I constantly correct our path. "I'll contact you again when you are close. I need to help Team Two prep the defensive line." The static signaled he got off the comms.

"So what's our plan?" Jaune asked. "I mean, who's going after Neo, and who's backing them up?"

"I'm going after her." I blurted out. "Blake is going with me. We'll search for Neo if the rest of you can hold off her goons."

"Are you sure Yang?" Came Ruby's concerned voice. "We can help too."

"I know you can. That's why I'll be counting on you if the two of us can't handle her alone. But until that point I need you, Weiss, Jaune, Ren, and Qrow to keep her men away from me and Blake. Can you do that?"

"Jaune and I will do our best Yang." Ren voice was steady and confident. "You can count on us."

"Ruby and I will be waiting to hear from you." Came Weiss' voice. "You better not let us down."

I smiled at all the encouragement and support from my friends. "You know I have your back." Blake's voice was soft but powerful. "I won't let anything get in your way." Another rough gust of wind shook the skimmer.

"This storm isn't getting any easier to navigate." Qrow noted. "Let's tighten up formation, everyone close in about ten meters." I slowed up and drifted to the left until the distance between us and Qrow was about fifteen meters. Even at this distance I still couldn't see him or the others.

I checked the map and we were a few miles out from our target. "Okay everyone, you're getting close to the target. Is everything going smoothly?" The instructor was back on checking in.

"Yeah the only thing that isn't smooth is the ride. The storm's worse than we thought it would be." Qrow replied.

"As awful as it is, that is a good thing." I didn't know why something being worse than anticipated was a good thing but there wasn't much I could do about it. "I'll be going silent and it'll just be the seven of you on this channel. Once the mission is complete radio back and we'll try to send in support. Good luck."

The comms went silent and we were all alone out in the storm. I slowed up as we came to the base of a mountain, the map said that this was Neo's base. I stop the skimmer and Blake and I got out, sinking nearly to my knee in the fresh snow. I lowered the canopy to keep the snow out and waited for the others. We all gathered and stood outside in the fierce storm.

"So now what?" I shouted over the howling wind. The ground started shaking and snow fell away to reveal a large metal door that was sliding open. "Oh." I looked at the others and then to Qrow who nodded. We stepped inside and followed the lights that lined the floor, almost like a runway.

"So you did survive Yang. And look at that you came to find me and brought a long a bunch of friends, how sweet." Her voice taunted me as it echoed around the tunnel. "We're going to have so much fun just as soon as you come to join the party. What are you all waiting for?"

"Don't let her get to you Yang!" Jaune told me. "This is just like Cinder at Haven with me. Keep a level head." I nodded and continued down the tunnel.

"You're almost there. Just a little further." I did my best to ignore her voice as it slowly irritated me. The tunnel ended in another large door. "Let me get that for you." Her voice echoed. The sound of grinding metal filled my ears as the door slid open, revealing a completely dark room.

"Stay together." Qrow whispered.

We slowly stepped into the room and the door quickly slid shut behind us, plunging us into complete darkness. My visor told me where everyone was at but even from a foot away I couldn't see anything. "I don't see anyone else." Blake whispered.

"Welcome, Yang and friends." Her voice was incredibly loud now, coming in from all directions. "You're about to witness something grand, something that the world will soon thank me for." A red laser trained itself on me, then another, and another. Soon we all had lasers pointing directly at us. "You're about to see what planning, hard work, and dedication will bring you. Today I'm going to topple the oppressive and unfair Atlas government." A light appeared about one hundred feet in the air and maybe thirty yards from us as a different light illuminated us. Neo was standing in the other light, leaning on a metal railing and looking down at us. "You can't stop me. You may have thought that I was only a step or two ahead of you, but in reality… I'm on the next game while you're still trying to win this one."

"Just give yourself up Neo!" I shouted. "If you do, I won't have to hurt you." Slowly lights kicked on and revealed the rest of the room. Her men had quietly surrounded us, and the red lights were coming from snipers posted on the multiple levels of scaffolding. They had multiple military vehicles arm with weapons and ready to go lined up neatly.

"Checkmate happened ages ago Yang, you just didn't realize it. Leave the one in red alive, kill the others." She was talking about Ruby. I felt my anger push me over the edge and I ran forward, activating Ember Celica and using them to launch me into the air towards Neo.

"Yang, wait!" Qrow's voice was drowned out by gun fire as her men opened fire. I latched onto the railing and pulled myself up and over as Neo took off running. I activated my Aura and chased after her.

A large burly man blocked my path and held up a large shield that sparked with electricity. "Get out of my way!" I slammed my right fist into it, denting the shield and sending him flying back into the wall. He slumped to the ground and I passed by him and followed Neo up a staircase. She looked back and scowled at me before she ascended further.

"Yang, wait!" I turned back and saw Blake swing her way up onto the scaffolding using Gambol Shroud, below us the others were taking on her men. She caught up to me and grabbed my arm. "We're doing this together, remember?" I nodded and we dashed up the stairs. When we reached the top Neo was almost at a door that I could assume led further into her base. She threw the door open and ran through.

"Come on Blake!" I ran towards the door and hallway across the metal catwalk it started to give underneath us. I got to a stable piece, but the metal gave underneath Blake and she fell down to the walkway below me. "Blake!"

She landed on her feet and jumped back as the metal fell, taking out that walkway too. "I'm fine! I'll find a different way up, don't let her get away." I stood frozen in place. "Damnit Yang, just go!" I gave her one last look then turned and busted through the door that Neo went through, running down another long hallway.

"Yang- I saw- is everyth- oka-?" I couldn't make out what Ruby was trying to say; the walls interfering with the earpiece's signal. _Damn, I'm alone until Blake catches up._ I heard the echo of something turning on from the end of the hallway. _What is it this time?_ I ran out and was immediately met with gunfire. I slid behind a crate as bullets riddled the metal, causing it to spark and vibrate. I noticed too late that the crate had the Schnee Dust Company logo on it, as the bullets pierced the metal.

The explosion of Dust threw me into the wall and started a chain reaction with the other nearby Dust crates. I scrambled to get away from the explosions while also looking for Neo. I fired a few rounds off at the gunmen while dodging behind pillars and other pieces of equipment. "Come on Yang. You'll have to do better than that if you want catch me." Her echoing voice taunted. Bullets ripped through the air and ricocheted all around me. _I can't do anything with these guys keeping me pinned down!_ I made a dash for a stack of metal crates, catching a few bullets in the side. My Aura stopped the bullets from ripping me apart but did nothing to lessen the pain. I fired off a few more blasts and ducked behind the crates.

The bullets stopped hitting my cover, but the rattle of gunfire continued. "Oh, look at that, your little Faunus friend is back." I shot up from cover and saw Blake running up on a group of Neo's men. Every time she dodged a bullet one of her shadow copies appeared.

I jumped out from behind the pile of crates and charged the nearest group. _Let's see what these Dust upgrades can really do._ I cycled the right Ember Celica to ice and the left to fire. I punched the nearest guy with my right fist and fired Ember Celica, leaving a thick sheet of ice covering his chest and limiting his movement. I kicked him into one of the others and leaned back to avoid the butt of a rifle coming at me. I stomped on the guys foot and blasted him with my left hand, scorching his clothes and burning him badly. The last two dropped their guns and pulled out batons the arced with electricity. They both charged me and swung the batons. I grabbed one of their wrists and twisted, hearing a snap as he screamed in pain and dropped the baton. The other guy jabbed me in the side, the pain from the electricity bringing me to my knees.

I reached for the dropped baton, grunting through the pain and closed my hand around the grip. I brought it up and jabbed it into the man's leg, forcing him to drop his and drop to one knee. I grabbed his head and brought it slamming into the stone floor, knocking him unconscious. I got to my feet as Blake ran over to me, kicking the guy with the broken wrist in the head to knock him out. "Where's Neo?" She asked.

"Up here!" I looked up and spotted her hanging over the railing, once again looking down on us. "That actually looked like you struggled a bit." I clenched my fists.

"Why are you running!?" I shouted over the groans of her injured men. "I thought your plan was to take down Atlas, yet all you're doing is running away from me!"

A section of wall slid open revealing a secret hallway directly underneath her. "Come on Yang, you're almost there." I ran towards the door as she disappeared from the walkway.

"Yang, wait!" I passed through the door and it slammed shut. I turned and pounded on the wall.

"Blake! Blake, are you there?" I pounded on the metal but it wouldn't budge.

"Separated again. So sad." Her voice taunted. I stopped hitting the metal and turned around. The last time I looked at Blake her Aura levels were still high so she could hold her own for a while yet, mine on the other hand… I looked in the corner of the visor and my Aura levels were looking low. _It's still holding up for now._ I ran down the hall, towards the faint blue light at the end. "Almost there, then you'll see why I've already won." It got colder the closer I got to the end of the hallway, the thermal suit barely keeping me warm. I stopped as I entered the large cavern. Neo was standing on a floating platform, hovering right in front of the colossal chunk of ice. "Now do you understand Yang?"

 **Atlas Academy: Headmaster's Office.**

There was an urgent banging on the door and it slid open. A man in a military uniform dashed inside. "General! General Ironwood!" Ironwood looked up from his paperwork as the man got to his desk and slammed his hands down.

"What? What is it?" Ironwood asked impatiently.

"Someone's hijacked every screen feed in Atlas, they're all showing the same thing!" The man spoke so fast, he didn't breathe during that whole sentence. Ironwood lowered the large screen from the ceiling and turned it on. The scene was shown from different angles that changed periodically. Yang was facing Neo as she stood on ha floating platform in front of a colossal chunk of ice, in the ice was a dark silhouette.

"Now do you understand Yang?" Neo spoke. "This," She motioned to the ice behind her. "This is how Atlas will fall."

"I thought you wanted to topple the government!?" Yang shouted back. "How is this going to help you with that!?"

"I knew that my men alone couldn't get the job done. Even with all the equipment that we managed to sneak away from the military, we wouldn't have been able to accomplish this by ourselves." Ironwood switched to different video feeds but each one showed the same thing.

"Every screen is showing this!?" He shouted in anger.

"Yes, we've tried to regain control but so far they have control over the feeds!" He shouted nervously.

Ironwood turned back to the screen. "You see Yang, you don't have to just sneak in and overthrow. Sometimes all you have to do is get the ball rolling and let the people do it themselves." The ice started cracking and a dull roar came through the speakers as the silhouette shifted in the ice.

"Mobilize the city's defenses! If everyone is seeing this, then it's only a matter of time before the Grimm are here! Keep the citizens safe!" The other man nodded and rushed from Ironwood's office. The general turned his attention back to the screen.

 **Neo's Base: Deep Cavern**

"When the government and the military fail to protect Atlas, wat do you think will happen? Beacon is still fresh in their minds, the image of that large dragon like Grimm terrorizing the skies while the robotic military gunned down civilians. They can hardly trust the people in charge right now." Another roar filled my ears as the shadow in the ice shifted and more of the ice cracked and fell away. A large floating camera drifted over to Neo and focused on me. "And with all the fear I'm pumping into Atlas right now, nothing will be able to stop this."

One final roar shook the cavern as the ice burst apart. A large worm like Grimm roared and uncoiled, finally free from its prison. It's long oily-black body was covered in bone plates and spikes. On each side of its head were three piercing red eyes, its mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It dove at the wall burrowing through solid stone as it escaped the cavern. I held onto the railing as the whole mountain shook.

Neo's platform floated over to the walkway, the cameras following the Grimm. "Now you have a choice Yang!" She shouted gleefully as her platform raised towards the top of the cavern. "Chase me… or try to stop that Grimm from destroying Atlas. The clock's ticking!"

She disappeared from sight and a square elevator platform descended and stopped right in front of me. "Yang!" Blake came running up from behind me. "Yang, what was that noise? Why was the whole mountain shaking?"

I put one foot on the elevator platform and looked back at Blake. "Neo's unleashed a colossal Grimm that's headed towards Atlas."

"What?" She looked at me confused.

"You need to get back to the others so you can contact Winter and Team Two back at the base. They're going to need more than what they've prepared for." I stepped fully onto the platform and it started raising up. "I can't let Neo get away! Please, go back to the others, you need to stop that Grimm!" My visor told me her Aura levels were at about fifty percent, and she was holding her left arm close to her side. "I'll be fine, trust me!" She nodded and ran back down the corridor.

The elevator took me up, faster and faster until it reached the very top of the cavern and spit me out on another walkway. The only door was off to my left and when I went through I was outside. I followed the footprints left in the snow as the led me up the outside edge of the mountain. "Yang to base! Yang to base! Come in!" _Somebody answer!_

"Yang, this is base. What happened?" I was struggling to move quickly through the deep snow as I rushed further upwards.

"There is a massive Grimm headed towards Atlas. Some kind of giant worm. It can tunnel through stone and it's headed your way!" I was shouting, hoping that they could hear me over the wind.

"What about Neo's forces?" The voice on the other end asked.

"Don't worry about them! We've got it handled, but there is a massive Grimm headed to Atlas to destroy it! You need to intercept it!" I finished my sentence but I didn't know f it got through as static filled my ear. "Damn!" I got to the peak of the mountain and the footsteps ended at another door. _This had better be the last one._

I threw the door open, letting the snow and freezing wind blow in. Neo's back was to me as she watched multiple different screens. The Grimm was traveling through the storm, breaching and tunneling over and over again. The other feeds showed her men getting beat by the rest of my team. "It's beautiful isn't it? That large beast is on a warpath and nothing will be able to stop it."

"I've already alerted the base. They're prepping to intercept it, it will be stopped and so will you." She turned to look at me, tears streaming down her face.

"I wish Roman could be here to see this." It took me by surprise. This really was just a broken girl standing in front of me. A broken girl who was twisted and corrupted by a man who was now gone. But I couldn't focus on that, I had to stop her.

"Just give it up." I told her sternly. "I have you cornered and we both know that I can take you down." The last part was a bluff. My Aura was dangerously low and the last time we actually fought she beat me soundly.

She pointed the blade end of her umbrella at me, smiling through her tears. "I may not be able to kill your sister, but I can definitely kill you!" She charged me, stabbing her blade at me rapidly. I couldn't move fast enough, and she landed multiple hits on me, draining my Aura even further. I pressed forward and lashed out at her, firing a blast from Ember Celica to extend my reach. She didn't even try to dodge as my attack hit her squarely in the chest, causing her Aura to shimmer. "I. Will. Kill. You!" Each word was met with an attack. I blocked as best I could and countered when given the chance. I narrowly avoided a swing and moved in close, grabbing her by the arm and throwing her over my shoulder, slamming her into the ground.

"Stay down!" I commanded. She jumped back up, kicking me in the chest to force me away from her. My Aura flickered and faded, my reserves drained.

"What are you going to do without your Aura? You're vulnerable now, I can kill you now!" She laughed gleefully, her eyes still full of tears. _I need to stop this now._ She pulled the handle from her umbrella, revealing a long and sharp blade. "It's over!" She shouted as she ran towards me.

I stood my ground and faced her down as her blade pierced my upper left chest, inches from my heart. I coughed, the blade piercing through the back of my shoulder, and I tasted blood in my mouth. "I still have my Semblance!" I shouted. I focused all of my power and anger into this swing. My whole body felt incredibly warm as the entirety of my right arm ignited in flames and connected squarely with her jaw. I pushed through the pain and sent her flying back into the screens, shattering them and sending glass and sparks everywhere. Neo slumped to the ground, her eyes closed and her head slightly bloody. The flames faded from my arm and I reached up and pulled her blade out of my chest. I fell back on my butt and reached around for my equipment bag. I pulled out the Biofoam and winced as I plunged the nozzle into my stab wound. I pulled the trigger and felt a weird sensation as the foam filled the wound, making my skin cold and tingly. I threw the empty can to the side and rummaged around for restraints.

I bound her hands and her legs and picked her unconscious form up off the ground. I couldn't feel my left arm and had to carry her along with my right. I drug her outside and back down the path I had followed up here. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and tapped my ear piece. "Blake? Qrow? Ruby, anybody? Just answer, please." I stumbled but caught my balance and pushed on. "Somebody, just answer." I pushed the door to the cavern open and drug Neo down the catwalk.

"Yang, I can hear you. Is everything okay?" I smiled at Qrow's voice as I tossed Neo's body onto the elevator lift. "Blake told us what happened. We're finishing up down here. Did you get Neo?"

I looked down at her unconscious body as the platform took us lower and lower. "Yeah, I have her, she's unconscious and I'm heading back down. Get to the skimmers, I'll be there in a minute."

"I'm sending Blake, Ruby, and Weiss to meet you." The lift stopped back at the corridor I came from as he finished talking. I picked Neo up and started dragging her along.

"Okay, I'll see you in a few." The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat and Neo's boots as the scraped the floor. _Come on, just a bit further._ My Aura was completely drained, and my endurance was about that way as well. I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the arc grenades just in case I ran into anyone else. The door at the end was open and the guys who shot at me early were all tied up.

They watched as I drug Neo along with me. "Boss!" I ignored them and pushed forward, hoping to get to the others before I collapsed.

A large red blur shot past me and skidded to a halt. "Yang!" She ran up behind me and gasped when she saw was I must assume was blood. "You're hurt." I handed Neo off to her so I could sit down.

"Not as much as she is though." I heard two more sets of footsteps as Weiss and Blake rushed through the doorway Ruby shot out of.

"Yang!" Blake shouted rushing to my side. She reached out to touch my face but pulled her back quickly, instead placing it on my chest.

"Don't worry, I used Biofoam. It's not bleeding, I just can't feel my arm." Blake helped me to my feet while Weiss helped Ruby with Neo.

"Yang, there's scorch marks all over Neo's face." I didn't notice it at first, but Weiss was right. Her hair was singed slightly and there were small burns covering her left cheek and jaw. "What did you do to her?"

"I punched her." We rushed as much as we could back to Qrow, Ren, and Jaune. They were finishing tying up a few of Neo's men when we got there.

"Some of them escaped but we can't worry about that right now." Qrow said, grabbing Neo and tossing her over his shoulder. "We need to get back to base." We rushed outside and over to the skimmers, a thick layer of snow covering them. Qrow strapped Neo into the back of his and everybody else was getting into theirs.

"Blake you have to pilot, I can't feel my left arm." She nodded and jumped in the driver seat while I strapped into the gunner seat. I struggled to lift my left hand but finally got it resting on the left control handle. "Try not to kill us." I managed to laugh out.

We zoomed across the snow, following the large marks left by the Grimm. "Team One we have visual of the Grimm, we are going to engage." It was Winter's voice that came over the comms.

"We have Neo in custody and are headed to support you now. We will join you as soon as we can!" Qrow replied. We had a lot of catching up to do but the worst of the storm was over, and the wind was with us this time.

"Attention all military personnel." I was surprised to hear Ironwood's voice. "I am sending a battle ship to engage the Grimm, the nearest one is approximately twenty minutes away. You must hold it off until then, good luck." Ironwood cut out. _I hope it makes it in time._ I closed my eyes and rested against the seat.

"You all heard James, when we catch up to this thing we need to keep it exactly where it's at." The feeling started to come back to my arm but that meant the pain did too. Even from this far out we could hear the thunder of heavy gunfire coming from the direction of the base. "We got Grimm ahead of us!" Qrow shouted.

I activated the turret and waited for Grimm to pop up in my sight. We passed by a large group of Beowulves, Ursai, and even a large Deathstalker. I squeezed the triggers as we passed, dropping a few of the Grimm but not even coming close to making a dent in their numbers. "They must be following the big one." Ren noted. The Grimm slowly faded in the distance as we sped away from them. Those were the only Grimm we saw for the next couple of minutes.

"I see the Grimm!" Jaune called out. Smaller attack ships swarmed the sky, raining bullets down on the massive creature. The base was launching artillery fire, managing to land a few hits before the Grimm dove under the snow to pop up somewhere else. "That thing is huge!" He shouted. "How are we gonna stop that?"

"We're not!" Weiss shouted. "You heard Ironwood, we have to hold it off for as long as we can." I trained the turret on the black flesh of the creature and squeezed the trigger, unloading into the massive Grimm.

"As long as we keep it away from the base and pinned down we'll be okay!" Qrow shouted back. I kept firing at the Grimm, my bullets probably more of an annoyance than anything to something that big. It dove back underground escaping a salvo of mortar fire. It didn't pop back up immediately making me nervous. The Grimm erupted from the ground continuing to travel towards the city.

"It's ignoring us now! What do we do?" Ruby asked. I thought about what we could possibly do to stop the thing but couldn't come up with anything.

"We need bigger guns!" I shouted angrily. What we had couldn't even scratch that thing.

"Did somebody say bigger guns?" Sun asked over the comms. A barrage of missiles exploded against the side of the Grimm, blasting off a chunk of its bone plating.

"Team Two is ready to rumble!" Nora shouted as another barrage struck the slithering monster. It reared back and roared exposing an underbelly that had no armor.

"We're going to ready another round. If we can blast off its armor you should be able to hurt it." Oscar told us. "Try not to be too close to it, we don't want you guys caught in the blast."

I fired at its chest, I still couldn't tell if we were hurting it or not. It roared again but this time changed direction. "It's headed for the base!" I shouted. Another round of missiles struck the Grimm in the head. The bone on its head splintered, causing the beast to tunnel underground. We were coming up on the base when the Grimm erupted just outside of the perimeter. Large shells and rockets exploded against the Grimm's underbelly as the base fired weapon after weapon into it. The Grimm roared and fell backwards, its body motionless.

"Did we kill it?" Came Scarlet's voice.

I stared at the body but it didn't start dissolving. "I don't think it's dead yet." Sage stated. The Grimm writhed and then roared again before diving back underground.

"Why won't this thing die?!" Neptune shouted. The Grimm breached again and swiped at the base with its tail, sending snow and debris up into the air.

"This is Winter Schnee, Atlas Military Special Operative. I order everyone to evacuate the base immediately!" A few more cannons fired at the Grimm before it destroyed them. "General Ironwood, we can't hold this thing off for much longer!"

Vehicles started quickly driving away from the base as the Grimm rampaged through it. A large blast knocked the Grimm over as a large battleship cut through the clouds. Its weapons left noticeable damage as a large chunk of the Grimm's flesh was missing. "This is Captain Violet Stroud; all personnel need to get clear of the Grimm immediately lest you get caught in the blast." Blake turned us around and drove us away from the base. The large front cannons of the battleship glowed blue as they built up energy. The Grimm roared at the battleship as it blasted a large blue laser from its front cannon that cleaved straight through the Grimm's head. Its body had already started dissolving before it had fully collapsed.

Cheering erupted over the comms as the beast slowly disappeared. "We are sending dropships down to retrieve everyone as per General Ironwood's orders. Regroup at the base and we will retrieve you momentarily." We pulled up to the destroyed base, pools of black sludge lying everywhere. We got out of the skimmers and the other half of our group came running over to use, Nora practically tackling Ren and Jaune. I walked over to Qrow's skimmer, leaving Blake to join the group.

Neo was awake and struggling against her bonds. "I told you that I'd stop you, and that we'd stop that Grimm." She looked up at me, fresh tears in her eyes.

"How dare you! You killed his dream! You killed my dream! Everything that we had worked for! You ruined it!" I reached out and slapped her across the face.

"Roman is dead Neo." I stated calmly. "He's gone, and you need to get over it. I hope you can get the help you need after you're punished for what you've done here." She quit yelling and just sobbed uncontrollably. I turned away from her and joined the others.

"Yang you're hurt!" Nora pointed out. The tear in my winter jacket was stained with blood.

"Only a little." I tried to play it off as she tried to get my jacket. I shrugged her off but Jaune stopped me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Here let me help." His hand glowed white but I didn't feel different. "I don't understand, why is nothing happening?"

"Because my Aura's depleted. You can't strengthen what isn't there." Jaune's Semblance worked like a booster to strengthen someone else's Aura, the only problem is mine was completely drained. "I'm fine, I'll get it looked at when we get on the ship." The dropships started touching down. I went and grabbed Neo from Qrow's skimmer, "Come on, you're coming with me." She didn't resist, letting me guide her to a dropship. Once this one was full we lifted off and flew up to the deck of the ship. I handed Neo over to armed guards and went to the infirmary. Blake went with me and watched while the doctor examined the wound.

"The blade appears to have punctured your lung slightly." I was sitting on one of the examination tables with just a bra covering my upper body. "Luckily though it was just near the top of the organ, see?" He pointed to an X-ray he took and circled the small upper portion, the area he pointed out darker than the rest of it. "More or less she sliced the outer flesh of the organ but didn't go through the actual chamber. That Biofoam you used, sealed the cut nicely and it should heal on its own as long as you rest. The wound however will need to be closed." He grabbed a few bandages pressed the cut together. He looked over at Blake. "Be a dear and hold the wound together like this please." She did as she was asked while the doctor unwrapped the first bandage. He placed it parallel with the wound and smoothed it out. "These bandages have a strong medical adhesive, it should prevent the wound from reopening while it heals." Blake did the same for the exit wound as he placed another bandage on. The doctor then grabbed a roll of gauze and wrapped my shoulder and chest in it. "Once your Aura recharges that should heal up fine, until then keep the wrap on to protect the bandages."

"I will, thank you." I put my clothes back on but kept the thermal suit off, it was too warm on the ship to wear it. Blake and I left the infirmary and a guard outside the door told us that everyone else was in the command center. He led us to an elevator and told us how to get there. We got in and the elevator and pressed the button for the level we were told.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Blake asked, concern in her voice. She lightly placed her hand on my chest, over where my wound was.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Do you think this will leave a scar?" I asked poking at it. "I hope so, scars are cool." She swatted at my hand.

"Don't poke at it. And it probably will leave a scar, you were stabbed straight through." The elevator gave off a quiet ding and the doors opened. We followed the hall to the right and once we got to the end took a left. There were signs posted outside of doors that told us what they were. _Supply Closet, Stairwell, Maintenance._ The hallway ended with a glass door protected by guards. They stepped aside when they saw us approach and let us pass. The glass door slid open, giving way to the command center. Windows lined the whole room, overlooking the deck of the ship and everything around us.

"I don't know James, she's probably still in the infirmary." I couldn't see Qrow but I could hear his voice. _Is Ironwood here too._

"Infirmary? Is she okay?" His voice was kind of staticky. He must be on a video call. I followed Qrow's voice to the front of the room where everyone had gathered and Qrow was talking with a video display of Ironwood.

"I'm fine!" I called out. Everyone body turned around and Ruby ran up and hugged me. "I captured Neo by the way." I directed at the screen.

"You did. And I'm very proud of all of you for the successful mission. There will be a public address about this event when you get back and I'd like all of you to be there." He looked past the camera and then back at us. "Sorry, but I've got a meeting. I'll see you all when you return." The screen cut out and a woman in elegant military clothes stepped over to us.

"You all did good work, I see why General Ironwood trusted you. We've put the prisoner in lockup, but she keeps asking for Yang. Which one of you is that" I raised my hand.

"That's me. Why does she keep asking for me?" After everything that happened I wouldn't expect her to want to see me, and I really didn't want to see her.

"She won't tell us why, just that she wants to see you. I can have someone take you to her if you'd like?" She waited for an answer and I just shook my head.

"No, I don't want to see her." The woman nodded and turned away, heading over to one of the consoles nearby. I yawned, exhaustion starting to set in. I sat down at the very front window and looked out over the airship's deck. Uniformed people were walking about, checking on the weapons and other equipment on deck. "It may not matter much in the grand scheme of things," I started. "But a victory is a victory, and I'll take it." I laid back and put my hands the air. "We did it everyone!" And just like that I was asleep.


End file.
